”No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear.” George Bernard Shaw

On: May 14, 2019
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Another blustery, wintry Mayday, so we slept in. Midday we ventured out to Macy’s for some retail therapy. Always fun to ride their rickety old wood escalators. Our main focus, infant girls’ clothing for our new great niece’s greatly anticipated birth in July. We also hit the men’s sales racks and scored a few items for ourselves. Clothing quality in Mexico is not the best, and paying a higher price is not a guarantee for quality so shopping at Macy’s successful.

Tonight’s dinner – overpriced Asian fusion at Blue Fin, where the mediocrity of the food matched the service. We have been skipping this restaurant for years, should have trusted our instincts, and kept skipping. Dining in the theatre district is always challenging in finding good eats within easy walking distance to make the curtain.

From “… The Bees” to Kings … tonight, we attended another Sam Gold production, “King Lear.” Although we’re not particularly avid Shakespeare fans, we went because of its legendary star, Glenda Jackson, as Lear, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character. He disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters, and egged on by their continual flattery, brings tragic consequences for all.

Derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king, the play has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world’s most accomplished actors The soon-to-be 83 yr. old actress’s tour de force is something to behold. Her complete descent into madness was compelling to witness. She’s at the TOP of her craft in her 60+ year career.

Clocking in at 3 hrs. 10 min., it beats “Avengers: Endgame” by 9 minutes. The creative and inventive, spare staging was what appeared to be a cube covered with gold-flecked, metallic paper, with decor including black and gold royal flags, dining table and chairs, and a throne-like back chair. Ruth Wilson’s performance is Tony-nominated – her duo roles as Cordelia and the fool were flawless. A 4-piece string quartet played onstage provided background music throughout. The original score was composed by Philip Glass, adding another layer to the play’s complexity.

This play was special for several reasons including its production values, quality of performances, and staging. We were also fortunate to sit next to a young Shakespeare aficionado, an English Lit major/amateur actor, visiting from Atlanta. He’d bought his half-price TKTS just today – lucky for us. He was a treasure trove of information about all things Shakespeare and gladly provided explanations of the play’s characters before the performance, during intermission, and for a few minutes after the show.

I have to admit I’ve only seen three Shakespeare plays before and they were all standards: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream, a favorite – love that little Puck. Actually, I’ve seen them all if you count a performance in London back in 1996. It was a hilarious celebration and send-up of all things Shakespeare, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” all 37 plays in 90 minutes.

Our brownstone is in a very dangerous location – right across from “Donna Bell’s Bake Shop” with the fluffiest, fruit scones drizzled with lemon glaze this side of the Atlantic. The actress, Pauley Perrette owns it as an homage to her mom.