UWM Theater brings the tragic drama of King Lear to the stage this weekend. Director Rebecca Holderness in conjunction with the Massachusetts-based Shakespeare and Company, the production is a solidly respectable manifestation of the theatre classic.
Shakespeare and Company's Dennis Krausnick strikes a respectably sympathetic tone as Lear. His performance lacks the weight of authority at the beginning of the drama. This is a bit of a problem as the characters transformation isn't nearly as dramatic as it needs to be to truly bring across the full force of the tragedy. And while this is vastly preferable to an over exaggerated transformation, it doesn't feel at all dynamic. Krausnick's performance is at its best when it's showing the characters vulnerable side. When the character descends into madness it lacks the strength of the authority and so it doesn't feel as disturbing more vivid as it needs to be to have its impact.
Krausnick's performance May not be entirely satisfying, but there's more than enough here beyond that to make for a really entertaining evening at the theater with Shakespeare.
James Tasse Strikes a feisty and Heroic figure as Kent. It's put portrayal the mixes straight ahead heroism with generous amounts of humor. A very clever balance that Tasse executes with a deeply human precision.
Bill Watson brilliantly plays to the heart and intellect of heroism in the role of Gloucester. Watson brings the hearty gravity of an inner strength to the character that helps make for some of the production's best moments. There were a couple of scenes shared between Tasse and Watson That felt so good you would almost get the impression that Shakespeare would've written those two rolls with those two actors in mind. (Okay, so I'm kind of exaggerating there but not by much.)
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Watson and Tasse Are, of course, faculty UWM. Their equity. But I would be remiss if I did not mention that there were also should really good performances by students in the production.
Of particular note here is John Glowacki in the role of the treacherous manipulator Edmund. Glowacki kind of looks like something you might expect to see in a cologne ad. But more so than just looking like something you'd expect to see flat and glossy in the middle of some hopelessly vapid magazine, Puchinsky brings the kind of dramatic density would expect of a leading man. There's a real gravitas about performance that serves the production so well and in so many different scenes. Is sophisticated villainy in that role is Watson's hero wisdom a place to be. And it's a really nice place to be.
Mark Puchinski you renders an admirably deep and intricate performance as Gloucester's son Edgar who is double crossed by the villain and ultimately becomes the revenant son I'm to reclaim his destiny.
It's kind of mixed up with the rest of it, but the Gloucester/Edgar/Edmund end of things really is a very good story. And with performances as good as they are here, that story serves as an engrossing alternate center to everything. An alternate center that's actually quite satisfying.
Also making a remarkable performance here is Kristen Johnson in the role of the fool who remains loyal to Lear throughout his brother pillarless journey into madness.
I don't know that I'd had a chance to mention this before, but I really love it when women get cast in those roles as the brilliant fool in Shakespearean drama or comedy. Those characters are some of my favorite. The ones that are more brilliant more clever than anyone else on stage. They're not the center of anything because they don't have to be. They're sitting outside it all laughing at it all. Perhaps they're more like the theater critic than any other character and Shakespeare and maybe that's why I love them so much. But it's just really satisfying seeing a talented woman play one of those characters. And that's the case here.
However, one does get the impression that Johnson is being very conscious of the fact that she's fitting into a larger ensemble here. She's pulling back just a bit. Reserving herself just a bit. Just trying to make sure that she doesn't upstage everything. And while that's really nice and all, it's not quite living up to the potential that she has in that kind of character. You watch her closely enough, and you'll see that she has really good comic instincts. She's just not playing with them with the kind of confidence and poise she needs is to really make them come to life on stage. That being said it is still a really satisfying performance on her part. Her grossly charming performance in that role elevates the performance of Krausnick in the title role in a few different key moments.
UWM Theatre's production of The Tragedy Of King Lear runs through November 18th at UWM's Mainstage Theatre. For ticket reservations, call 414-229-4308.
