Worth a second look: ‘The Lion in Winter’

Think of the title "The Lion in Winter" for a moment. What comes to mind?

If you saw this play first, as I did, as an innocent young person in the early-70s, you might recall a vague impression that it has something to do with aging, and the disillusionment that comes along with it.

Fast forward to the here and now, and Starlight Dinner Theatre is presenting the artistry of lead actors Kevin Burnham, portraying Henry the Second, and Tanya Canady-Burnham, playing his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

An aging king, a wife who would be queen, three adult children -- each of whom aspires to inherit the crown. What could possibly go wrong?

If ever there was a more vitriolic married couple in theater history, I know not where. Henry boasts, not only of conquests of territories in war, but also of the multiplicity of bed-partners he’s had -- male and female, adults and children. Meanwhile, Eleanor, no slouch, has given him at least four children, suggesting her own array of sexual liaisons with others along the way.

Thus, a second more jaded look comes in 2020. In the wake of a wide swath of accusations, of convictions and corrupt men and women in power, a squinting of the eyes reminds us that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

James Goldman’s invention of dialogue between Henry and Eleanor is whole cloth, dreamed up. It’s an imagination of the vituperative vitriol and Machiavellian machinations the couple might well have engaged in back in 1183. Conversations swing wildly back and forth. There are moments of honeymoon-like nostalgia, then witty one-liners that cut like a knife. Can this marriage be saved? Of course not, as each character is more duplicitous than the other.

Actors Burnham and Canady-Burnham manage to provide glimpses of a humanity that was once present in their characters. It is an ugly humanity. Neither character is fooled by the other. Check and checkmate.

Goldman’s script focuses on the two main characters at the expense of the five supporting characters.

Malachi Cates, a novice 14-year-old, plays the part of the youngest son, John. He imbues his characterization with all the exuberance and awkwardness one might expect from a 14-year-old. Brian Farnum as the middle son, Goeffrey, along with Robert McCleery as the eldest son Richard, stand around a lot with folded arms seemingly waiting for the right moment to say their lines.

I would be amiss not mentioning the resplendent costuming of Lee Helder. Her outfitting of the young Alais, Henry’s “mistress,” is outstanding.

The Lion in Winter

March 13-15

Dinner at 6:30 pm, performance at 7:30 pm

Sunday dessert at 1:30 pm, performance at 2:00 pm

Starlight Dinner Theatre

3131 W. Michigan Ave., Lansing

Tickets and reservations available at starlightdinnertheatre.com