Jack O'Brien, whose fluid, almost dreamlike direction of Stoppard's The Invention of Love nearly shook that drama out of its ivory-tower lethargy brings the same sense of style to Shakespeare - and here he even gets to have battle scenes, hold-ups, tavern carousing and a coronation. For all the legitimate excitement of the production, it should be noted that not much really happens in the first two hours(!), and that fine as the work by adapter Dakin Matthews is (he cobbled the two Henry plays into one), the piece does feel every bit of its 230 minutes.
Still, the story-telling is clear and grandly scaled, the cast is game, and Kevin Kline's surprisingly mellow Falstaff not only pleases the crowd but makes clear why that beloved character was precious to Prince Hal but also a truly bad influence on the king-to-be. Ralph Funicello's set appears bare-bones at first but proves a lovely and ultra-functional wonder.
