Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy, King Lear, is transformed into an outlaw motorcycle style bar tragedy in this abridged production. King Lear, played by Michael Galizia, is the leader of the outlaw motorcycle club, and sports a long bushy beard, an American flag do-rag, and the classic beer belly. Every character, except the youngest daughter Cordelia played by Taylor Payne, is clad in black leather, bandanas, and tattoos galore.
Set in a bar with a pool table in the center, this original approach works well with the plot, and the many devious and manipulative characters, their personalities and actions matching their dubious costumes. Edmund, played by Katie Wanschura, is perfectly evil when she dupes her mother and half-brother with a sly grin. This production also adds an LGBT experience because Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter, is lesbian, and many male characters in the original version are female in this production.
King Lear is Shakespeare’s longest play, so to shorten the play, the cast cleverly uses phone calls instead of dialogues occasionally. This production is a clever and original, but it is a shame that the play was shortened so much, to just ninety minutes, because many beautiful lines are skipped and the action happens in a lightening fast pace, which makes it difficult to appreciate the story.
King Lear information and tickets.
