“THE LION IN WINTER” WARMS THE CAINE LYRIC THEATRE
King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitane have three sons: Richard, Geoffrey, and John, who all stand to inherit the kingdom. King Henry wishes the kingdom to stay united after his death, but all three sons want to rule. Will the kingdom be torn apart by revolution? Henry favors the youngest son, Eleanor favors the eldest. The middle son believes the only way he can be swept into the ruling chair is to play both ends against each other. Henry wants another heir by his mistress, but that would only widen the field. This proves that royalty faces the same problems we all face, just on a grander scale. What helps? What gets Henry and Eleanor through? Unbridled wit.
“The Lion in Winter,” James Goldman’s witty, eloquent story of royal family values opens July 11 at the Caine Lyric Theatre, 28 W. Center Street, Logan. Curtain is at 8 p.m. The production is the fourth and final play to join the rotation presented by the Old Lyric Repertory Company (OLRC), a program provided by Utah State University.
Tickets for OLRC performances are available at the USU Spectrum Ticket Office (435- 797-0305) during business hours (Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) or at the Customer Service Center of the USU Taggart Student Center, room 212 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Tickets may also be purchased at the Lyric box office one hour before curtain on performance nights for that evening’s production only. The Lyric box office is also open at 1 p.m. on Saturdays for Saturday performance tickets.
With a cast that included Robert Preston, Rosemary Harris (Tony Award winner for her performance) and Christopher Walken, “The Lion in Winter” hit the stage with a roar in 1966. James Goldman’s writing was especially well-received. Cecil Smith of the “Los Angeles Times” wrote, “This is a beautiful play that has more wit in every speech than some hit comedies in an entire evening.” It was revived in 1999, garnering a Tony nomination for Stockard Channing.
“I really like the play,” says director Kirstie Rosenfield. “It’s a fabulous character piece that says a lot about family values through its well-drawn relationships between the characters. Henry and Eleanor have created a situation where they have no relationship with their children. This lack of familial unity makes them not know or trust anyone without conditions being attached.”
Though this play tackles important family issues, Rosenfield says that “this is really a comedy. It masquerades as a history piece, but it is quite anachronistic and that’s where most of the humor comes from. It’s more a play about family dynamics than telling factual history. We twist Shakespeare’s histories to make them relevant to our time, but, this one was written to be relevant.”
Heading the cast as Henry and Eleanor are Actors Equity Association members Lee Grober and Joan Mullaney, respectively. Both can also be seen in this summer’s productions of “Peg O’ My Heart” and “The Boys Next Door.”
Taking the stage as their three sons are returning OLRC members Christopher Glade as Richard, Steven Fehr as Geoffrey and Cory Castillo as John. Glade can also be seen in this season’s “Peg O’ My Heart” and “Pump Boys and Dinettes.” Fehr also appears “Peg” and “The Boys Next Door.”
In the role of Alais we find returning OLRC member Amber Tuttle, and the role of Philip is played by Eric J. VanTielen, a returning OLRC member who can be seen in this year’s “Peg O’ My Heart” and “Pump Boys and Dinettes.”
Premium seating for single tickets is $15 for adults, $13 for USU faculty/staff/senior citizens and youth (under age 18) and $10 for USU students. Further information regarding ticket prices may be obtained at any of the box office locations. Children under age 6 are not admitted.
Flex-Pass season subscriptions are also available and offer a 25 percent savings off premium seating single ticket prices. Flex-Pass season subscriptions are $45 for adults, $39 for USU faculty/staff/senior citizens and $30 for USU students. The Flex-Pass contains four coupons to any 2001 OLRC production of choice, thus eliminating the pressure of choosing dates in advance. A matinee Flex-Pass subscription is also available for any Saturday matinee for only $36. Flex-Passes may be purchased only at the USU Ticket Office.
“The Lion in Winter” opens Wednesday, July 11, with additional performances July 12, 13, 19, 27, August 2 and 4. Evening performances begin at 8 p.m. and each play in the summer season includes a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee performance. The matinee for “The Lion in Winter” is August 4.
If you’ve missed any of the other three shows, have no fear – all four productions will rotate performances throughout the rest of the season.
The Old Lyric Repertory Company is a production program for advanced students in the Department of Theatre Arts at Utah State and is supported by grants from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation, George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, Balleine Supporting Organization, Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, City of Logan, Anne Kennedy Roskelley Memorial Endowment and Dr. Ezekial R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Endowment.