Late in the second act of The Lion In Winter, Eleanor of Aquitaine brings "breakfast" to her three sons, all imprisoned in the castle's wine cellar. It is a very cold breakfast, one made of steel. She has brought them daggers. Eleanor hopes they will use them to escape. But the three quickly decide to kill King Henry when he arrives. It's a royal family that puts a big "D" into dysfunction, but it makes for an engaging and compelling night of theater. The Lion in Winter isn't a strict accounting of historical events. Instead, it explores family dynamics in an atypical family.
Set at Christmas, 1183 in Henry's castle at Chinon, France, the play follows the schemes of husband and wife, Henry and Eleanor, who just happen to be the king and queen of England. The two have been married for decades, but the relationship has taken more than its share of nasty turns. For the last decade, Henry has imprisoned his wife in her castle, letting her out on very rare occasions. The hate has grown between the two, but the love that first connected them still burns. That conflict fuels most of the action, as each tries to "win" by putting a favorite son in line to be king when Henry is gone. Henry and Eleanor plot and scheme. Watching them work, you quickly understand why the two were attracted to each other: they are masters of manipulation. Which makes for terrific drama, and comedy.
"What are we going to hang? The holly or each other?" Henry asks early in the play. Family members are not afraid to hurt each other's feelings. In fact, they relish in it. A hurt opponent is one that could make a mistake. And a mistake might clear the way to the throne. The play, written by James Goldman, takes a different path than past explorations of Henry's reign. Typically, works focused on the earlier years of Henry's rule, especially his tumultuous relationship with Thomas Becket. Instead, Goldman looks in on Henry in his later years, worrying what will happen to the kingdom he worked so hard to forge. As Henry, Greg Vinkler is overbearing and dominating, constantly trying to steal the scene from the rest of the cast. In other words, exactly what the King of England should be. Carmen Roman brings bearing and grace to Eleanor, but she also explores the queen's cold heart. The sons are drawn as three very different types. Thomas Vincent Kelly's Richard doesn't appear to feel, except in a few key moments, when the hard facade falls away and the hurt child emerges.
Geoffrey, played by Alan Kopischke, is also cold, but in a different way. He knows he will never rule, so he schemes to set himself up with the brother that is most likely to take the throne. John is a brat, a 16-year-old with no noticeable redeeming values, but who is the king's favorite. Joe Foust plays the character to the hilt, with John going from sullen to elated to crying in the corner within a few moments.
