My kingdom for a conscience

Whoever coined the term “royally screwed-up” must have seen The Lion in Winter, and not because it’s a bad play. Rather, the characters—the family of King Henry II—manage to screw each other over so often and in such delightfully evil ways, you may need a scorecard to keep up.

It’s Christmas in 1183. King Henry II (Michael Peters) has lived to the then-ripe old age of 50, and he’s trying to ensure that his empire will live on after his death. His three sons—the ruthless Richard (Jess Glen), the manipulative Geoffrey (Evan Humphreys) and the simple-minded John (Michael Higdon)—are all vying for the crown. Henry wants his favorite, John, to take the throne, while his wife, Eleanor (Patt Fiscus), is pushing for her favorite, Richard.

Of course, it’s much more complicated than that. Eleanor has been imprisoned for a decade for leading a rebellion against Henry, which may have been partially motivated by jealousy at Henry’s infidelity. Henry is currently having an affair with Alais (Jami McDonald), who has been engaged to Richard since they were both children. Alais is sister to Phillip, the king of France, who wants to see his sister married or get her dowry back. Geoffrey is bitter about being ignored, so he’s trying to play everyone against each other.

Confused yet? It’s much more fun to watch these threads unravel on stage, so I’ll refrain from any more plot summary. The important thing to understand is that everyone has a motive, whether it be love, money or power—or all three—and each of these characters will do whatever they can to come out on top.

Patt Fiscus is nothing short of phenomenal as Eleanor, a juicy role that won Katharine Hepburn an Oscar in 1968. According to the program notes, Fiscus won a Best Actress Award from the Los Angeles Adult Drama Association for this very same role, and I can see why. Whether weeping bitterly over Henry’s betrayals or delivering snappy one-liners, Fiscus is a joy to watch. Her voice alone is worth the price of admission.

Michael Peters is also impressive as Henry, whose emotions vary wildly from wicked glee to indignant sorrow. Jami McDonald is just as great as the vulnerable, yet complex Alais, and all three of the men playing the sons embodied their defining characteristics very well. In fact, the only performance I didn’t enjoy was that of Troy Harsh, whose turn as Phillip was practically emotionless and whose lines were often hard to hear.

Besides solid acting, The Lion in Winter features gorgeous medieval costumes and a well-designed set that’s quite easy on the eyes. My only major beef with the production is that scene changes take far too long. While I appreciate director Diane Nichols’ attention to detail, functionality and speed are sacrificed here for elaborate props and decorations. At least two extra stagehands were needed to speed things along—and to keep large objects from getting stuck in the doorway, which happened at least twice during the showing I saw.

Despite these minor glitches, this is the best production by Reno Little Theater I’ve seen so far. I was rapt in attention from start to finish, wondering who would triumph in the end—and who would get the royal screwing.