SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT
TO PRESENT "HENRY VI PART 3" IN SUITS.
Production compares Wars of the Roses with our current political
polarization and illuminates the tenacity of irreconcilable conflicts,
including current civil and sectarian wars.
 |
L-R: Joe Clancy, Erin Noll,
Bill Green. Photo by Hamilton Clancy. |
July 27 to
August 12, 2017
La Plaza @ The Clemente Parking Lot, 114 Norfolk Street (E. side of
Norfolk St. between Delancey and Rivington)
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:00 PM
FREE
Subways: F to Delancey Street, M to Essex Street.
Presented by The Drilling Company
More info call 212-877-0099 or visit www.drillingcompany.org
Running time: 2 hours.
We can gain insight into
our current polarized politics from Shakespeare's plays on the Wars
of the Roses. That's why Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, presented by
The Drilling Company, will present "Henry VI Part 3" from
July 27 to August 12. The play, which is seldom done, lays bare the
passions of the Medieval English war between York and Lancaster. In
doing so, it illuminates the animosity between today's Republicans and
Democrats on one hand and the tenacity of irreconcilable conflicts,
including current civil and sectarian wars, on the other. Hamilton Clancy
directs.
The Drilling Company has
been producer of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot since 2006 and is also
the exclusive producer of Shakespeare plays in Bryant Park.
"Henry VI Part 3"
revisits the late 1400's, when a series of wars for control of the throne
set the House of Lancaster (symbolized by a red rose) against the House
of York (symbolized by a white one). This play is one of four in Shakespeare's
canon ("Henry VI, Parts 1-3" and "Richard III")
that deal with the horrors of these conflicts, which threw the stable
country into pandemonium as families broke down and moral codes were
vitiated for the sake of payback and power. Hamilton Clancy's adaptation
will dress the characters in suits, not armor. He explains, "This
is the best play in the canon to reflect our current political polarization.
The pitched battle between the two sides seems impossible to reconcile,
and that is how we find the public discourse between Republicans and
Democrats today."
Clancy says, "Our political
discourse is very violent already. We of course are hopeful that it
does not get any more violent than it has been recently." He explains
that the company considered doing "Julius Caesar" and "Richard
III," but considered "Henry VI Part 3" a better match
for the confusion of our current time. "It better reflects the
antagonism of the two sides and we believe that it matches public discourse
on leadership and politics," he says.
The play is also the most
violent one in the Shakespeare canon, with more battle scenes (four
on stage, one reported) than any of the other plays.
Of course, there are some
differences between 15th Century England and our current situation.
"It doesn't line up exactly," says Clancy, "so you won't
see Trump or Gingrich in it." But putting it in a contemporary
setting will make it easy for people to recognize that we are in a political
battle. He explains, "We are looking for opportunities to elucidate
how violence is not just the violence of weaponry. It is also the violence
of legislation that would cause destruction to people."
Clancy also sees the play
as instructive on political nepotism. Originally, he thought of interpreting
the two houses like crime families, but discarded that approach because
"although some of it matched, we have gotten numb to crime family
things." Still, he concedes, "we have a leader who delegates
power to his family and talks like a gangster. And loyalty is how he
does business."
"Henry VI Part 3"
is infrequently produced. The Public Theater presented the three parts
of Henry VI in Central Park in 1970 as the heavily adapted "Wars
of the Roses," directed by Stuart Vaughan. The institution presented
the three plays again in 1996 in two three-hour parts at its Astor Place
location, directed by Karin Coonrod. Last year, BBC offered the play
as part of its four-part series, "The Hollow Crown: The Wars of
the Roses." Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, now 23 years old, has
never before presented this history play and there is no record of it
being produced in any other parking lot. But in their day, Shakespeare's
plays of battle, intrigue and betrayal were immensely popular and tremendously
entertaining. Their formula precedes such modern analogues as "House
of Cards." Their moral impact could also not be overstated: the
father-and-son battle scene in "Henry VI Part 3" is one of
the most heart-rendering battle scenes in the canon.
The play's central point
of focus is Henry VI himself, whom Clancy views as "historically
a kind of pacifist" and who tried unsuccessfully to navigate a
compromise between the two warring sides. The play contains provocative
dialogue about the role and possibility of peacemaking during societal
conflict. The King will be played by Schuyler Gallun, who as of this
writing is appearing in "Terezin," an acclaimed World War
II play on Theater Row.
Parking Lot regulars will
recognize Richard of Gloucester as Alessandro Colla, revisiting a role
he vividly discovered as Richard III in the Parking Lot in 2013. Lady
Margaret will be played by Evangeline Fontaine, who played opposite
Colla as Kate in The Drilling Company's "TheTaming of the Shrew"
in Bryant Park in 2015. The cast also incudes Joe Clancy (Rutand), Rice
Dutton (ensemble), Eddie Fields (George), Maggie Rothberg (Westmoreland),
Schuyler Gallun (Henry VI), Christopher Gooley (ensemble), Bill Green
(York), Kyle Maxwell (Warwick), Erin Noll (Prince Edward), Kendra Oberhauser
(Lady Grey), Ben Peterson (Exeter), Lee Seymour* (Edward) and Bradford
Frost (Clifford).
Assistant director is Maggie
Rothberg. Stage Managers are Em Hornbeck and Joseph Treimanis. Assistant
Stage Manager is Rachel Jeffries.
IF YOU GO
"Henry VI Part 3" will be performed July 27 to August 12,
Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:00 PM and all admission is free. Seats
are available on a first come first served basis, with audience members
often arriving early to secure a place. Audience members are welcome
to bring their own chairs. Once seats are gone, blankets are spread
out. No one has ever been turned away and there's never a wait for tickets.
2016
| 2015 | 2014
| 2013
| 2012 | 2011
BRYANT PARK 2014
*= member, Actor's Equity Assn.