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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