Theatre & Stage reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff

"King Lear"

Shakespeare's "King Lear" is considered to be one of his most monumental works and the Goodman Theatre, under the direction of Robert Falls has unleashed a production that is exciting, exhilarating and exhausting. This play is three hours PLUS and the energy that is put into this production is so great, the audience leaves feeling exhausted, but fulfilled. What a sparkling production! From the very modern sets by Walt Spangler, The fantastic costuming by Ana Kuzmanic, sound by Richard Woodbury and lighting by Michael Phillippi and the cast that has been assembled, this is a production that The Bard himself would applaud for. Every actor, no matter the size of the role, is as near to perfection as perfection can be. Newcomers and veterans alike take on the roles with high energy and playing King Lear is Stacy Keach who is something to behold on stage. Every line, every movement, while we know is stage, appears to be real and happening now, as if never before were these words uttered or these movements used. He is remarkable and proves that he is a true actor in his handling of this very difficult role. When he is on stage either as the Lord or the homeless fellow/outcast, he is nothing less that superb!

The story of "Lear" is that he has decided to divide his kingdom so that as he ages he will be free of his burdens, by giving 1/3 to each of his daughters based on them telling him how much they love him. The eldest and second do so, but Cordelia, the youngest refuses to join her sisters and so she is banished and his Kingdom divided into two. He also banishes Kent, a role well done by veteran Steve Pickering, as he has questioned Lear on his choice. Meanwhile, the Earl of Gloucester , Edward Gero in a solid performance has his own problems. Edmund , his Bastard son (Jonno Roberts), convinces him that his real son, Edgar (Joaquin Torres) wants to kill him to take over his land and so Edgar leaves leaving Gloucester in the air as to who he can trust. Mr. Torres is wonderful in this role, one that could be considered the role of a lifetime for a young actor and his scenes with Mr. Keach are breathtaking. Watching Lear go mad and Gloucester's problems are just a part of the energy that you will see in this fine production.

This is a solid cast- even in the smaller parts, each actor makes each line and every motion count. Remember, Mr. Falls has brought this 400 plus year play into modern times, with guns and knives, cell phones, and even a Mercedes (one running, one not), soldiers in combat outfits very much like were worn in Yugoslavia in recent years. While this is modern in appearance, the language and words are still Shakespeare's, but for some unknown reason, I found that people I spoke with did find the play more understandable, so perhaps all of the great classics should be set in modern times, thus allowing our youth to learn the value of these works.

The entire cast should be mentioned but space does not allow- Howard Witt plays the Fool with a special sense of irony and the daughters are handled by the always sparkling Kate Arrington, Kim Martin-Cotten and Laura Odeh. Kevin Gudahl, one of our city's finest actors, takes on a smaller role in this production, but as always, when he is on stage, the eye is drawn to his movement and the ear to his voice ( he truly speaks the speech, trippingly on the tongue).

"Lear" will run through October 22nd in The Albert at The Goodman with performances as follows:

Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays evenings at 7:30 p.m. ( No performance on 10/8) Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturday at 2 p.m. Oct. 7th and 14th Sundays at 1:30 p.m. Thursday 1:30 p.m. 9/28 and 10/5)

There is also a Tuesday night performance at 7:30 p.m. on October 17th.

Tickets range in price from $20-$75 and are available at the box office located at 170 N. Dearborn, by phone at 312-443-3800.

There is a new tickets: MEZZTIX, half price Mezzanine tickets available at 6 p.m. for evening shows and noon for afternoon shows (subject to availability) you can also check online at 10 a.m. www.goodmantheatre.org.

To see this schedule and know how hard these actors work is as I said earlier, exhausting, but well worth the trip to the Goodman.