{"id":327013,"date":"2026-05-22T00:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327013\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:38:14","slug":"lb-playhouse-cast-capably-handles-wildesque-repartee-of-the-lion-in-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327013\/","title":{"rendered":"LB Playhouse cast capably handles Wildesque repartee of \u201cThe Lion in Winter\u201d –"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Amanda<\/a>Amanda Karr as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Noah Wagner as Richard II (photo by Mike Hardy) <\/p>\n

Having not seen either a staged version of The Lion in Winter or the 1968 film adaptation (for which Katherine Hepburn won her third Oscar), I had no idea what to expect. Something straightforwardly (melo)dramatic, maybe? In any case, I was surprised to find myself watching what I imagine Oscar Wilde might have done if he\u2019d tried his hand at Greek tragedy set on his home soil.<\/p>\n

Whether that sounds appealing to you is a fair barometer of whether you\u2019ll like this play, because nothing about Long Beach Playhouse\u2019s straightforward rendering fails to serve that aesthetic\u2026nor, if you find Wildesque banter cloying, to rise above it.<\/p>\n

Wily Henry II (Noah Wagner) has pulled together the beginnings of what will come to be the British Empire, but he\u2019s worried about its staying power after his death (he\u2019s 50 at a time when life expectancy is 30something). And with good reason: his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Amanda Karr), has already spent a decade in prison for leading a failed coup; his ambitious sons (Giovanni Navarro, Trevor Hart, and CJ Switzer) are likely to fight each other for power no matter whom Henry names as successor; and France\u2019s young king, Philip II (J. Henrik Nielsen), is biding his time, looking to exploit any weakness in order to retake lost lands. Because it\u2019s Christmastime, Eleanor has been allowed at court, where she mixes with her children, Henry\u2019s mistress (Lauren Velasco), and the visiting Philip, a convocation that sets the stage for the repartee of cunning that comprises almost the totality of the play\u2019s action. Plots are hatched and discovered, pacts made and betrayed, verbal attacks and ripostes come hard and fast. But hey, \u201cWhat family doesn\u2019t have its ups and downs?\u201d<\/p>\n

There are quotation marks around that line because it\u2019s actually from the play. It\u2019s the most famous bit, along with, \u201cOf course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It\u2019s 1183 and we\u2019re barbarians!\u201d This sardonic, postmodernist tone is what makes The Lion in Winter stand apart from typical historical drama \u2014 for better or worse, depending on taste.<\/p>\n

Whether or not this sits well on your palate, the cast generally does well with it. I can\u2019t say I found The Lion in Winter as clever as playwright James Goldman intends it to be (which is not the same as saying it\u2019s not clever), but not because anyone onstage failed to properly sell his material. In the meatiest roles, Wagner (doing fine work in this town for many a year) and Karr (clearly reminiscent of Hepburn, which ain\u2019t too shabby) stand out. And while everyone is solid in Act One, after intermission is where they really show their stuff.<\/p>\n

Director James Rice\u2019s handiwork is unobtrusive; it may be the perfect pacing that most bears his stamp. Scenically, while the chessboard motif on the floor is a bit on the nose (however nice it looks), the throne looming above the proceedings and lit up red in-between scenes is an apt touch.<\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t have to love The Lion in Winter to appreciate its uniqueness and smarts. But if you did love it, you\u2019d be far from the first. Long Beach Playhouse\u2019s staging is certainly good enough to give you a chance to find out whether you\u2019re joining that club.<\/p>\n

The Lion in Winter at Long Beach Playhouse
Times: Fri\u2013Sat 8:00 p.m., Sun 2:00 p.m.
The show runs through June 13.
Cost: $27\u2013$36
Details: (562) 494-1014; LBplayhouse.org
<\/a>Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amanda Karr as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Noah Wagner as Richard II (photo by Mike Hardy) Having not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[9720,23050,135919,40482,131,133,132,9722],"class_list":["post-327013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-curtaincall","tag-lbc","tag-lbplayhuse","tag-longbeach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-rln"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}