Sunday, March 29, 2009

Review: Exit the King


Embracing Death Amidst the Absurdity of Life

By Lauren Yarger
It’s time for the king to go. Permanently, that is, and before the play is over, his first wife keeps reminding him. His second wife thinks there’s hope, however, so a battle of the wills in a comedy of the absurd ensues in Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King on Broadway.

King Berenger (Geoffrey Rush) doesn’t have long to live according to the doctor (William Sadler). Young Queen Marie (Lauren Ambrose) wants him to focus on their love and to shelter him from reality. First wife Queen Marguerite (Susan Sarandon), more practical, belittles Marie’s focus on feelings and advocates for preparing him for the inevitable.

Berenger’s kingdom is in ruins, his subjects are disappearing and even the earth’s elements themselves no longer respond to his commands. The walls are cracking, the palace washing machine has been hocked and the royal radiators are on the blink, but two faithful servants, the Guard (Brian Hutchinson) and the maid, Juliette (Andrea Martin), try their best to keep things running normally. Ah, but what’s normal? “Nothing is normal when the abnormal has become normal,” we’re told and that’s the crux for the conflict between the wives.

Director Neil Armfield (who co-translated the work with Rush) guides the actors around and through scenic and costume designs from Dale Ferguson and even uses aisles in the house to create a very real study of a man forced to come to grips with the end of his life amidst the absurdity of life.

Rush displays physical comedy skills as the king’s body deteriorates. He also does some nifty sight gags with his scepter. Sarandon mixes a polished, royal-sounding stage voice with body language that says “common” as the seemingly unfeeling Marguerite watches Marie’s efforts from a distance, then takes over to become Berenger’s sole focus and guide in the end.

Martin shines as the clumsy, trying-so-hard Juliette. Clad in a tattered black dress with sarcastic white pumps and evening dress gloves, she carefully places used hankies on statues and tries to courtesy while straightening or hopping over the enormous trains dragged around by the royals as part of their vestments.

Trumpeters herald entrances and exits that enhance music by composer John Rodgers. A sort of humming sound throughout the performance, presumably to enhance the impending doom nature of the play, is rather distracting (sound by Russell Goldsmith), though.

Exit the King plays through June 14 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, 243 W. 47th St., New York. For tickets,
call 212-239-6200 or visit www.ExitTheKingonBroadway.com.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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