HENRY VIII at OSF a winner
Elijah Alexander as Henry VIII in the spectacular OSF production
HENRY VIII : By William Shakespeare. Directed by John Sipes. Through Oct. 9 on the Elizabethan Stage.
In June 1520 Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for a “summit conference” which historians refer to as “the field of cloth and gold” reflecting the pageantry and elaborate costumes worn by the participants. Thus, when the play opens there is wide golden banner hanging from the three level stages that drops and the pomp and ceremony begins.
The rainy opening night performance did not dampen the spirits of the appreciative audience treated to strong portrayals by seasoned OSF actors. Vilma Silva steals the stage with her entrance as Katherine of Aragon the wife that Henry casts aside for Anne Bullen (Christine Albright) with whom he hopes to sire a male heir to the Throne. Anthony Heald must have been born a Shakesperean actor and plays the avarice, duplicitous Cardinal Wolsey with such persuasion there is no doubt he deserves his fate. Michael Elich’s switch from his role as the bouncy “Music Man” to volatile Buckingham is proof of his versatility. Richard Howard as Duke of Norfolk matches Elich line for line. Shakespeare did not create a fully rounded character for King Henry VIII and Elijah Alexander is not given much opportunity to emote.
Shakespearean purist consider Henry VIII , this last play by the Bard, as inferior to his previous historical plays even suggesting it was a collaborative work with John Fletcher explaining the lack of uniformity in the writing. My advice is to disregard the intellectual criticism and accept the basic fact that the Henry instigated the schism and finally the break from Catholicism and rule of the Pope. This formal separation led to the formation of the Protestant Church of England primarily because the Machiavellian Wolsey conspired to have Henry’s petition for divorce denied by the
The play opens and closes with eye-popping pageantry and all the characters dressed in gorgeous 16th century costumes (Susan E. Mickey) with stirring music by Todd Barton combined with the great cast makes it a must see production.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com