Results tagged “king lear” from Drama Queen

This week I'm macking on: This kid. For taking a South Park episode and bringing it to glorious life on the pages of the New York Times. In the Arts section. Only problem is, he can actually play some instruments, which seems pretty unfair. I mean, isn't the whole point of Guitar Hero that you can shred on guitar without having to actually know anything about the guitar? What a tool.

This week I'm hating on: Al Pacino as King Lear. I mean, really? Who's gonna play the Fool, Steve Buscemi? And what, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco are Albany and Goneril? And hey, wait a minute, didn't I review something like this last summer at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival? Yes, I did, and the whole "Gangland Lear" ended up being a pretty cool metaphor. Which means I might might actually be macking on Pacino, after all, which means...

This week I'm hating on: Will Ferrell. For being right. Read the first two paragraphs of Ben Brantley's review of Ferrell's new, sold-out Broadway show You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. Great punchline; all too true. 

Over the weekend I attended a production of King Lear at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and was struck by Will's endless malleability. He is all things to all people, and in this case, bent obligingly to an interpretation of Lear's usurpers as wiseguy goombahs, pretenders to the throne who bow and scrape with one hand resting on a shiv. It's so head-smackingly obvious, but still, it's by no means a definitive interpretation. In fact, it's pretty clear that unlike the man who, "in his time plays many parts," Shakespeare keeps on evolving long after his time. As long as the English language appears onstage, I doubt a definitive Shakespeare production will ever emerge. Drop him anywhere in the last half-millennium--or heck, just throw a dart at any decade in the 20th century--and somehow he works. 

In honor of all the drama-loving daddies out there, here's a list of my top five favorite stage fathers. (Note: they were not necessarily chosen for their parenting skills.)