"King Lear" at Theatre in the Round

To begin their 73rd season, the oldest theater in Minneapolis is going back to a classic - the Shakespearean tragedy about a king gone mad and his scheming heirs, King Lear. In an interesting twist, Theatre in the Round has tapped veteran #TCTheater actor Meri Golden to play Lear as a pants role (meaning Lear is still a King not a Queen, and referred to as male). She's fantastic, and it's wonderful to see a female actor get a crack at this iconic role. She's supported by a large and talented cast, and sparse but effective design, for an engaging take on this classic that I haven't seen in so long I didn't remember the details of the story or characters. When the board member introducing the show (as they always do at TRP) said "we do murder well," he was referring to their annual Agatha Christie play (this year: The Unexpected Guest opening in November), but he could just as well have been talking about this show. There is a lot of murder, some of it bloody, and it is, indeed, done well. King Lear continues at Theatre in the Round through October 6.

Based on a legendary king of Britain in around 800 BCE, the titular King begins the play dividing his land among his three daughters, after they declare their love and loyalty to him in the most flowery terms. The two eldest daughters Goneril and Regan say whatever he wants to hear in order to gain power, while the youngest Cordelia simply states her love and refuses to play the sycophant. For this sin she is banished, while the other two are rewarded, which a series of events in which they try to wrest more and more power out of their father, and him slowly going mad. Meanwhile in a parallel tale, the deliciously evil bastard son Edmund of the Earl of Gloucester schemes to disinherit his elder brother Edgar and do away with their father. Themes of loyalty, betrayal, ambition, and greed play out in an ultimately tragic way.

George M. Roesler directs the play with great momentum and urgency, with little pause as the tension builds toward erupting violence. Meri Golden plays all the layers of Lear, from angry to hurt to desperate to insane. Patti Gage and Deanne McDonald believably embody the scheming elder daughters, and Olivia Denninger the sweet and loyal youngest. Luke Langfeldt performs with a knowing smirk on his face as the charming but evil Edmund, with lots of fun audience addresses; Tim Perfect is regal as the betrayed Gloucester (perhaps the only sane person in the play); and Taylor Evans takes Edgar through his own arc from madman to hero. Other highlights include Lucas Gerstner as the loyal Earl of Kent who disguises himself to continue serving his king, and Danny Kristian Vopava as the fool in full clown makeup entertaining the crowd, who proves he's smarter than he appears.

As always, the unique in-the-round space is used well, with actors performing to all sides of the theater. The simple set is painted to look like pale wood, with a raised platform in the center, and a large crack painted across the floor hinting at Lear's fractured kingdom. They've built a large black pole in the center of the space that matches the permanent poles on two sides of the space so well that I had to look at photos of past shows to assure myself that there isn't always a pole in the middle of the stage. Maybe it's for practical purposes to hang lights on, but it also adds dimension and something for actors to play against. I don't know what the fashions were like in 800 BCE, but I like this representation, with layered dresses for the women and tunics for the men, sort of vaguely medieval, which feels right. (Set design by Greg Vanselow, costume design by Bejou Leifeld.)

The aforementioned tension is aided by the thunderstorm at the end of the first act, with the sound getting increasingly loud and the lighting coming faster and faster. The fight scenes are also full of tension and suspense, and blood in the gross eye-gouging scene. The sword and dagger fight scenes are exciting and urgent. (Sound design by Robert Hoffman, lighting design by Mark Kieffer, fight direction by Madeline Achen.)

See this timeless tale of power, loyalty, betrayal, and succession gone wrong at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood weekends through October 6.