November 9-19 at Shelton Auditorium, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30, Sunday at 2:00
Sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons – The Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern-day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action – the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom and King Henry’s paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, “Every family has its ups and downs,” and this royal family is no exception.
CAST
Henry II – Doug Powers
Eleanor of Aquitaine – Jean Arnold
Richard – Thomas Sebald
Geoffrey – Jo Bennett
John – Garrett Rowe
Alais – Miranda Nehrig
Philip – Kaya Dorsch
James Goldman (1927-1998) was an American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter, honored with an Academy Award for the screen adaptation of his own play The Lion in Winter. He is also the author of the screenplays for Robin and Marion, Nicholas and Alexandra, and White Nights; and the book for Stephen Sondheim’s stage musical Follies. Mr. Goldman was born in Chicago and was a graduate of the University of Chicago before beginning postgraduate work at Columbia University in music criticism until he was drafted into the army during World War II. In 1961 his whimsical play They Might Be Giants, about a man who believes he is Sherlock Holmes and is attended by a psychiatrist named Dr. Watson, was produced by Joan Littlewood in London and 10 years later was turned into a film starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward and directed by Anthony Harvey, who also directed the 1968 film version of A Lion in Winter. Mr. Goldman’s first play on Broadway was a comedy about life in the army, Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole (1961), written with his brother William. Other work for the stage includes A Family Affair, a collaboration with John Kander, starring Shelley Berman; Evening Primrose (1966), his second collaboration with Mr. Sondheim; Oliver Twist (1982), Anna Karenina (1985), Anatasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986), and Tolstoy (1996). Mr. Goldman’s novels include The Man from Greek and Roman (1974), Myself as Witness (1980), and Fulton County (1989).
Southbank Theatre Company is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)3. That means every financial contribution is tax deductible! No matter how big or small, your contribution supports theatre artists and the stories they bring to our audiences. With your help, we will be able to build a sustainable, creative company in Indianapolis that will celebrate emerging and established artists from all backgrounds.
