Lion in winter Redux
‘The Lion in Winter’ review by Janet Oscura
(Internet Times).
There were tribulations getting the theatre open, various bureaucratic papers came through late. Then some technical problems came up. All of which held back the official opening by a week. But it was well worth the wait to see the Black Cat theatre’s first full scale production ‘The Lion in winter’ by James Goldman. A small crowd of friends and critics were invited to Nyack’s newest playhouse. Mr. Dark’s Nasty Attic Players are no strangers to the boards, having been around almost twenty years, and this production just shines. Lusciously dressed in Susanne Potoma’s delicious 1970s costumes. Ashley Black’s rich and eccentric set. All delightfully lit by Mike Gnazzo and drenched in a funky soul soundtrack by Jean Noir. The modern dress twist to this melodramatic classic freed the audience to revisit the play. While the fine ensemble of actors burned up the stage with their smoldering sensuality and momentum. Making this a ‘Lion’ not to be missed. A great start to a new theatre and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next.
The Redux version of this old classic was another look back into our past. In our early years as ‘The Nasty Attic Players’, we’d taken a swing at this set in its proper time of Christmas 1183. My conceit for this second go was a modern dress version set in the 1970s. Where the first version had been designed to be set up in town hall and was thereby threadbare. This one was in our own theatre and I dressed it to the nines. Once more Elmwood playhouse’s Bob Olsen, Susanne Potoma and Mike Gazzo allowed me to plunder for set design, costumes and lighting. Then Mark Tucker’s Used furniture lent me many fine pieces of dressing and props. Which gave such a rich, plush look to our set. The cast were superb but unfortunately I have no programme from this show. Though I do recall, Matt Bogen and Mark Holland played two of my sons. While I this time took on the role of Henry II.
