Ambition and betrayal reign supreme in this electrifying reimagining of Shakespeare’s poetic masterpiece. Set in 1980s Manhattan, the neon skyline and shadowy backrooms become an epic battleground of identity and power, where a king’s divine right crumbles beneath the weight of human frailty. Craig Baldwin’s inventive adaptation makes Richard’s tragic descent freshly immediate, staged a stone’s throw from the site of the historic Astor Place Riots, the original American cocktail of politics, insurrection, and Shakespeare.
Critic's Pick. Inside a claustrophobic glass box, representing, at various points, the royal court, a prison and his own mind, Michael Urie looks desperate and insecure wearing the crown, alternating between rubbing and rolling his eyes. He appears most content when describing his miseries; self-pity is his happy place. In the Red Bull Theater’s vigorously populist revival of “Richard II,” his twitchy hands and darting glances also indicate something else, a signature of this magnetic performance: a guilty conscience.
Traitors abound in Richard II, and in this production, it’s not always clear who’s on whose side. Unfortunately, double-casting only makes matters more confusing. Though I’m not sure more actors could even fit on the Astor Place stage. The only time this production really breathes is when Urie is alone in that giant glass box.
| 2025 | West End |
West End |
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
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