It's perfectly understandable if years from now, or maybe fifteen minutes after leaving the theatre, the only thing you clearly remember about the Roundabout's new production of A Man For All Seasons is Frank Langella's extraordinary performance as the highly-principled Chancellor of England, Sir Thomas More, who refused to support Henry VIII's wish to separate from the Vatican and form the Church of England in order for him to divorce the aging Catherine of Aragon and wed Anne Boleyn in hopes of their union producing a son and heir. Not that director Doug Hughes' sturdy mounting of Robert Bolt's 1960 historical drama doesn't contain fine work from the rest of the ensemble, but in a play where the central figure so dominates the proceedings - especially with this production's removal of the narrator/commenter character known as The Common Man - Langella linguistically feasts on the dense, wordy text and gracefully conveys the complexities of a family man who refuses to betray his conscious, no matter the cost to his loved ones or his own head.While Bolt leans on portraying More a bit more on the saintly side than reality dictates, Langella never strikes a false note as he spares philosophically with the self-involved king (Patrick Page), the slickly elegant Spanish ambassador (Triney Sandoval) and the arch Oliver Cromwell (an almost dastardly Zach Grenier). His distain for the corruption of the men surrounding him is expressed by both roaring bursts and faintly exasperated glances. To see the actor's transformation of More from a righteous lion to a fragile, quietly defiant prisoner in the Tower of London, awaiting execution, is a heartbreaking experience. Also very touching is the work of Maryann Plunkett as his long-suffering but devoted wife.
It's perfectly understandable if years from now, or maybe fifteen minutes after leaving the theatre, the only thing you clearly remember about the Roundabout's new production of A Man For All Seasons is Frank Langella's extraordinary performance as the highly-principled Chancellor of England, Sir Thomas More, who refused to support Henry VIII's wish to separate from the Vatican and form the Church of England in order for him to divorce the aging Catherine of Aragon and wed Anne Boleyn in hopes of their union producing a son and heir. Not that director Doug Hughes' sturdy mounting of Robert Bolt's 1960 historical drama doesn't contain fine work from the rest of the ensemble, but in a play where the central figure so dominates the proceedings - especially with this production's removal of the narrator/commenter character known as The Common Man - Langella linguistically feasts on the dense, wordy text and gracefully conveys the complexities of a family man w
Designers Santo Loguasto, Bob Mackie, Murell Horton, Kermit Love and Rouben Ter-Arutunian will all be honored for their contributions to the theater at the TDF/Irene Sharaff Award Ceremony March 23rd at the Hudson Theatre.
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