In The Know

Those of us from DC and surrounding environs (or just those of us who have worked in its theatres) know that the real reason to see The Public's upcoming King Lear is not that Kevin Klein is cast as Lear, but rather that DC stalwart and genius-level Shakespearean actor Philip Goodwin will be playing the Fool. The last time Goodwin did the role, I was too young to attend the play, but ever since I've been seeing theatre, Goodwin was there.

Goodwin played the Dauphin in St. Joan, the first play I ever saw, at Michael Kahn's Shakespeare Theatre back when it was the Folger Shakespeare Company. As I grew up, subscribing to The Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth and The Shakespeare Company, seeing Phillip Goodwin (and, of course, the inimitable Floyd King) was one of the regular pleasures of the stage. Even though he's been on Broadway thrice, New Yorkers haven't seen that much of him-- most recently, he was in Harold Pinter's The Celebration at The Atlantic (he was the owner of the restaurant)-- so now's your chance to see Goodwin play not only a great role but a hard one.

I bring this up because I think there are few roles in Shakespeare harder than the Fool in Lear, and a bad Fool can be emblematic of deep-seeded problems in a production. Just remembering Jonathan Miller's King Lear at Lincoln Center, with its standard cockney Baldrick version of the fool, reminds me of everything I didn't like about the production. The Fool is hard because the play relies on his voice heavily, and the comedy of that voice is... well... not that funny. Anymore. Heck, it's frequently incomprehensible. I bet it was riotous back in the day, but as my grandma always says, comedy is what separates the generations.

So it is good news indeed that The Fool is being played by someone with a lifetime of Shakespearean acting behind him (just off the top of me 'ead I can remember Goodwin as Angelo in Measure for Measure, Malvolio in Twelth Night, one of the sets of twins in Comedy of Errors and, most impressively, Henry VI in a four and a half hour, single evening Henry VI, i-iii).

While I am sad that I won't see indie veteran, hilarious blogger, quality actor and unique presence James Urbaniak fill the roll, it's good to know that Goodwin will be getting a major role in NYC, and NYC will be getting a major role in him.

Comments

[dan]

It's amazing how much of Shakespeare's comedy still holds up -- or rather, which kind. Most of his wordplay is incomprehensible to a modern audience. But much of the situational and character comedy still works. The fifth act of Midsummer's is as close as you can get to a guaranteed kill in any play, let alone the canon.

[isaac]

Midsummer also (handily) blocks itself in the more farcical moments. For example, the big fight scene between the four lovers. You can (if you wish) just arrange starting positions and have each character cross to (And increasingly get in the face of) whomever their line is addressed to. Whammo! Instant comedy.

[James Urbaniak]

Eh. You win some you lose some.