(Note from Gina: Jean Shimoguchi is one of SSC’s very dedicated and hard-working volunteer board members.  As we are now at the half-way point of the Festival, Jean shares her thoughts on our first two productions.)

Director Richard E.T. White said that The Lion In Winter is the 12th-century version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and he’s right. Lion is the dramatization of Henry II, King of England, as he decides which one of his three sons will inherit the kingdom.  His imprisoned wife, Eleanor of Aquitane, has been released from prison to celebrate the Christmas holidays.  The play is a chess game between Henry, Eleanor and their sons.  Add to the mixture Henry’s young consort, Alais Capet, and you’ve got the 12th-century version of a dysfunctional, reality show!

Marco Barricelli, SSC’s Artistic Director, is magnificent as Henry II.  His strong baritone voice commands the theater and his stage presence is mesmerizing.  We’ve waited three years for Marco to take the stage at SSC and it was well worth the wait.  Kandis Chappell is flawless as Eleanor.  She and Marco spar verbally like two fine-tuned tennis players who know the strengths of weakness of their opponents.   They can throw insults that pierce the heart and toss lobs that bring laughter to the audience.

Is this what happens to love when over time it has been strained?  Must people, who were once madly in love, turn ugly just to get what they want?  These are questions posed by playwright James Goldman but it is up to the audience to come to their own conclusions.

On the other hand, SSC’s production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost is about the beginnings of love.  In the play, Ferdinand, King of Navarre, and his three attending lords vow to focus strictly on their studies at the university and disregard women.  That’s until the lovely Princess of France and her three attending ladies arrive.  Once the men and women meet, all vows are thrown out the window and the merriment begins.

Director Scott Wentworth has staged this engaging production focusing on the smart and tightly written dialog, but he also adds his own modern touches such as skateboards, raps, and hilarious costumes.   About 75% of the play is full of fun and laughter, but Shakespeare ends it with a poignant and thought-provoking closing scene.

The cast is large and each actor creates his or her own unique character.  V Craig Heidenreich and Marion Adler are well matched as the King and the French Princess.  Unlike Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine, King Ferdinand and the Princess are civil to each other and only tease in jest.  Their love is new.  Will they eventually turn into Henry II and Eleanor?

The supporting cast is highlighted by the hilarious performances of J. Todd Adams as Costard, a clown, and Victor Talmadge as Don Adriano de Armado, a Spanish braggart.  Both men bring laughter to the audiences just by walking on stage.

Seeing these two plays in tandem is a great study in the evolution of love.  Does a new love that begins as bright and supportive always turn into an ugly conflict?  Or will the couples in Love’s remain in love for years and years?  The plays pose the questions.  What do you think?