The Lion in Winter

Reviewed by Neal Weaver

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“I guess all families have their ups and downs,” says Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s perennially popular comedy drama about 12^th century royals. But in most families, the ups and downs don’t come as fast and furiously as in this play, and certainly they’re never expressed quite so articulately, with so much wit and elegance.

For this is the family of Henry II, King of England, and his flamboyant, now estranged, Queen Eleanor, former queen of France, who abdicated her place on the French throne to throw in her lot with Henry. The family includes their three sons, war-like Richard (later known as the Lion-Hearted), conniving Geoffrey, and petulant, ineffectual John: All have their eyes on inheriting the English throne after Henry’s death. So in addition to the rivalries, shifting alliances, and resentments that might be found in any family, their ambitions are dynastic, and the prize is a kingdom.

The only characters from outside the family are Philip, the young King of France, and his sister Alais, who was promised to Richard as his bride. Instead, Henry grabbed her dowry for himself and made her his mistress.

Henry (Ian Buchanan) has banished Eleanor (Mariette Hartley) and consigned her to a reasonably comfortable imprisonment in a convent. But now, in 1183, he has furloughed her to join the family for the Christmas court at Chinon. Once the brood has assembled, the intrigues and dangers proliferate, with each of the combatants choosing sides. Eleanor still nurses a love for Henry, but she’d like to beat him at his own game. She aligns herself with her chosen son, the warrior Richard (Brendan Ford), while Henry’s favorite is the feckless scape-grace John (Doug Plaut). Nobody really trusts the devious Geoffrey (Paul Turbiak), who hopes to place John on the throne and make himself the power behind it — or to inherit it by default by discrediting the other candidates. Meanwhile, French King Philip (Paul David Storey) has designs of his own. And poor Alais (Justine Hartley) must resign herself to being a pawn in the chess-game.

Goldman’s script is historical in its details, but the tale is filtered through a sophisticatedly modern point of view. With its brilliantly self-conscious comedy and multiple conflicts, it’s sure-fire, given a reasonably accomplished cast. Director Stephanie Vlahos has assembled a more than competent crew of actors, but she encourages them to an overly histrionic, emotionally overblown style.

Mariette Hartley gains the acting honors by avoiding the emotional bombast of the others, and resolutely playing the wry, unabashedly gray-haired realist who takes things as they come and tries to make the most of them, while also aiming to prevent her volatile family from murdering one another. Buchanan’s Henry, at least in the earlier scenes, seems more like a strutting bantam rooster than the lion of the title, but he gains in stature as the play progresses. Ford’s Richard is appropriately bluff, but he never reveals the vulnerability and emotional neediness that led him to profess his love for young Philip. Turbiak is a credible Geoffrey, but not persuasively dangerous.

While past Johns have often been played as darkly thuggish, the blond Plaut plays him as a spoiled brat, a more voluble cousin of the young Pretender in Sergei Eisenstein’s film Ivan the Terrible. As Philip, Story emphasizes the need for the young king to prove he can stand up to the wily and tyrannical Henry. And Justine Hartley’s Alais is a woman of authority, spunky even though she’s been dealt a losing hand.

Set designer David Potts provides an impressively architectural Norman castle, all arches, masonry and tapestries. And costume designer Kate Bergh employs lush exotic fabrics to create the handsome costumes.

The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street, Burbank; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 3 & 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., through May 18. (818) 558-700, Ext 15, www.ColonyTheatre.org