Well-matched for Quantum Theatre’s latest performance space, William Shakespeare’s King Lear reigns in the postindustrial majesty of the Carrie Furnaces National Historical Landmark. Playing through June 2, the Bard’s most searing family drama enlivens the former steel-making kingdom of Andrew Carnegie. Kudos to Quantum Founder and Artistic Director Karla Boos for her vision in maintaining the tradition of adventurous and meaningful Shakespeare with such resonance.
This King Lear is a unified achievement far surpassing ordinary concepts and aspirations. Quantum’s entire artistic team, and stage director Risher Reddick, create a monumental experience in which the ensemble, direction, and design elements meld organically.
The four-century-old story remains timeless. Lear irreparably fractures his own kingdom as he divides it amongst his three daughters. He sets off a cruel and violent scramble for power.
Realistic in how it draws relationships, this Lear is punctuated with the ironic laughter and bittersweet tears of real life. Military and political text are cut to focus on human conflicts, love, and pain. James Kincaid and Julian Markels collaborated on this tightly edited two-hour script, first heard in a Bricolage Production Company staged reading directed by Reddick. It featured Jeffrey Carpenter as Lear and Tami Dixon as his Fool, both reprising these roles.
Reddick and his designers evoke the hard work of laborers at the Carrie site and Homestead Works site across the river. Seated before an incomparable backdrop for any performance, the audience watches under the looming blast furnaces and the legendary Carrie Deer sculpture. The 11 actors move on several levels within the expansive space, yet create great intimacy.
Scenic designer Tony Ferrieri adeptly creates naturalistic playing spaces. At ground level, stony and gravel covered areas are backed by the broad steps and the layers of metal walkways and platforms that connect the giant mechanics.
Gongs set high within the structure create mystery and sound effects for the storm and other key moments. Moreover, amplification of voices is very well accomplished by Steve Shapiro. A whirring factory whistle is appropriately heard as an alarm throughout.
Todd Brown’s lighting considers the shift from day to night and his lightening effects with in the layers of the furnace site conjure the welding and hot metal associated with steel making. Occasionally, passing trains add realistic rumbling and screeching almost as if on cue.
Reddick mines deep humanity through big and small moments, like the opening entrance of Lear and his daughters. Like bridesmaids, the women manage his long cape which is actually a large-scale map designed by Susan Tsu, costume designer. The cape, which employed the time and hands of many artists and volunteers, depicts Lear’s crazy-quilt kingdom which he immediately apportions to his heirs by asking each daughter to quantify their love for him. The chilling moment when Cordelia has nothing to say sets off the king’s tragic and unstoppable wheel of fire, and he then drags that cape dramatically up the tall steps to the furnaces’ interior.
The first act runs for one hour and 20 minutes followed by an intimate and shorter second act of 50 minutes. At the break, Reddick sends the audiences with their thoughts about the opening act on quarter-mile walk. Lit by flashlights and luminaries, the path leads to a circular grassy glade, the Iron Garden, dotted with large stones. Several banks of seats are but a few feet from the actors who sit in view of the audience when not on stage.
Tall friar-like figures also view climatic scenes featuring some of Shakespeare’s most iconic moments: Edgar taking Gloucester to Dover, Edmund and Edgar’s final confrontation, and Goneril and Regan’s attempts to control one another’s fates and fortunes. As lights go to black and up again, the figures begin to glow for the final heart-wrenching scene.
However, the spectacle of the Carrie does not overshadow Reddick’s reliance on the text and his outstanding cast. As the timelessness of Shakespeare’s words is reconfirmed, many phrases pop out as relevant to today’s political themes of lies, loyalty, manipulation, and fear.
With their compelling and fresh characterizations, Reddick’s actors would ably deliver captivating performances without such effects. Undoubtedly sharing a collegial spirit needed to work in this demanding setting, most appear in leading roles as well as soldiers, attendants, and iconic industrial figures who conjure the molten steel scooped by long-handled ladles in the mill.
Jeffrey Carpenter may be surprising as Lear–not because some might consider him decades to young for the role–but for his creation of such a likable and empathetic Lear. Carpenter’s performance is full of the humanity, pathos, and regret Lear deserves. As he subtly falls into confusion and possibly dementia (which the plays notes as “madness”), Carpenter captures the very aspects of aging often mistaken by those closest to their elders. His thoughtful and well-crafted performance is a comment on why, as Arthur Miller wrote, “attention must be paid.”
The trio portraying Lear’s daughters delivers Shakespeare’s multi-layered text with insight and vocal prowess. Lisa Brennan’s Goneril is strong, sexy, and savvy, commanding the focus of Lear, the men who love her, and the sisters who rightly fear her. As Regan, Dana Hardy is cunning as she seizes opportunities to gain power. Cordelia’s big love, resilience and empowerment shines in Catherine Gowl’s performance.
Ken Bolden’s warm and wise Duke of Gloucester embodies a father who navigates the slipping shore around him in his moving and engaging scenes with his sons. As Gloucester’s bastard son, Joe McGranaghan returns to Pittsburgh as the delightfully duplicitous Edmund. His well-drawn villain displays the charm of a liar who stops at nothing to gain power as he deludes his father and betrays his sibling.
As Edgar, Connor McCanlus gives nuanced performances as a trusting brother and devoted son. He also doubles as Cornwall, Regan’s mean and ambitious spouse. When Edgar is disguised as Poor Tom, a half-naked beggar on the stormy heath, he compassionately steers Lear and his blinded father to safety. McCanlus’s Edgar is loyal as the actor expertly depicts multiple roles simultaneously and is semi-clothed for much of the action.
Tami Dixon juggles the witty Fool, a warm and protective France who takes Cordelia as queen, and the Old Woman, transitioning with clarity among characterizations As the Fool, Dixon is agile, sharp-tongued, and subtle. She garners some giggles as the audience appreciates jibes shared with Carpenter, her real-life husband.
Faithful Kent is Monteze Freeland, who draws a kind and resolute presence even while in disguise, or the stocks, and amid the chaos. He opens the play singing the iconic labor anthem “Whose side are you on?,” a song echoed several times and at the play’s close.
Michaelangelo Turner’s Albany, Regan’s husband, is confidently optimistic, and one of the few trustworthy family members. Jessie Wray Goodman as Oswald is obedient yet smart in her intent, while her Burgundy is as cold as Lear in rejection of Cordelia.
As actors’ costumes intimately connect to their intentions and text, Tsu imaginatively dresses the cast in an array of earthy colors and natural fabrics–knits and wovens in cotton and wool in a rust-inspired palette. Her team of specialty artisans and stitchers provide notable leather working, tailoring, felt work, and the other vital costume crafts that make Tsu’s wardrobe an additional star.
Indeed, Lear’s final entrance with Cordelia is hauntingly heralded by the sound of his dragging cape, bringing the tragic burning wheel full circle.
IF YOU GO: You will be rewarded with an unforgettable experience. Playgoers traverse the perimeter of the colossal structures. On opening night, the winds blew and shivers were sent up spines from both the action and weather. However, the hearty crowd cheered the cast upon their bows. As they say in the theatre, this journey will be a very hard act to follow.
Tickets are now selling fast for “an experience like no other,” as Boos says . And Quantum Theatre has kept her promise, as six of the remaining 15 performances at only 150 capacity each have sold out. Don’t assume you can buy a ticket on site as there are already wait lists for some dates.
King Lear is at the Carrie Furnace in Swissvale (adjacent to Rankin) through June 2. Before you order tickets, do read all details about seat availability, accessibility (golf carts rides are provided), and what to wear, bring, and expect while at the Carrie in Quantum Theatre’s website.
Yvonne Hudson, a Pittsburgh-based writer, publicist, actor, and singer, joined PITR as a writer and adviser in February 2016. She began performing and writing during high school in Indiana, PA. The Point Park journalism grad credits her Globe editor for first assigning her to review a play. Yvonne is grateful to Dr. Attilio Favorini for master’s studies at Pitt Theatre Arts, work at Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, and believing in her Shakespearean journey. When not working with nonprofits, this lifelong chorister sings with Calvary UM Church’s annual Messiah choir. Having played Juliet’s Nurse for Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, Yvonne is now seen in her solo shows, Mrs Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson: The Poet Lights the Lamp. Goals: See all of Shakespeare’s plays in production and memorize more Sonnets. Fave quotes: “Good deed in a naughty world,” “Attention must be paid,” and “A handbag?” Twitter @msshakespeare Facebook: PoetsCornerPittsburgh LinkedIn
Categories: Archived Reviews