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If you think your family is a piece of work, wait until you experience the dysfunctional royal household in “The Lion in Winter” in Long Beach Playhouse’s stellar production.
Featuring a king, queen, three princes and a mistress holed up in a French castle one Christmas, “The Lion in Winter” — written by James Goldman in 1966 — is like “Succession” meets “Game of Thrones” meets “Arrested Development” (because it’s funny, too).
It’s the Middle Ages, 1183 to be exact, and King Henry II (an amazing Noah Wagner) wants to decide who will succeed him as ruler of England and France, who will get his mistress (and the land of Vexin she brings as her dowry), and who will get the rich land of Aquitaine that his queen had brought with her.
It doesn’t help that everyone has their own idea of who should get what and that Queen Eleanor (a terrific Amanda Karr) has a strategically sharp mind and deliciously devious tongue. It’s also weird and complicated that Henry’s young mistress Alais (Lauren Velasco) had been raised by Eleanor since she was nine years old, creating a love-hate relationship between them.
Meanwhile, sibling rivalry among the sons is by turns violent and hilarious as they vie for their parents’ attention and favoritism. Richard (Giovanni Navarro) as the arrogant eldest believes he should be next in line for succession while Geoffrey (Trevor Hart) drolly plays up being the overlooked middle child and pimply young John (CJ Switzer, with great comic timing and delivery) is bratty and petulant.
As barbs and betrayals fly left and right — sometimes in jaw-dropping ways — one begins to wonder if the parents might not actually care much for their children, even if they sometimes seem to. They do seem to care for each other, though, but in a very twisted way.
Henry keeps Eleanor locked in a dungeon most of the time (!) for trying to depose him but has let her out for the holidays. As portrayed by Karr, Eleanor is brilliantly sarcastic and clearly Henry’s intellectual match.
But if you read between the near-constant biting lines they exchange, Eleanor seems to love Henry, despite his relationship with Alais, and he seems to need her, and both seem genuinely affected by the prior loss of other children.
Director James Rice brings out the best in these intrepid actors, plus J. Henrik Nielsen as Alais’s haughty young brother Philip, who controls her dowry and hates Henry’s condescension toward him.
Rice keeps the characters continuously moving around the chessboard-like stage (designed by Laurel Mura) in a natural and flowing way, making the play fun and engaging to watch, with clear sound design (by Jessica Rivera) and gorgeous medieval costuming (by Christina Bayer). While the second act is longer than the first, the plot and dialogue remain intriguing throughout, with a couple of surprise twists.
Long Beach Playhouse’s “The Lion in Winter” is an overall excellent production to experience, not least for Wagner’s and Karr’s superb portrayals of the king and queen at the core of this messed-up family. Seeing it may make you actually appreciate your own more.
“The Lion in Winter” continues through June 13 at Long Beach Playhouse’s Mainstage Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Free parking is available in the lot behind the theater. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-494-1014 or visit LBPlayhouse.org. Run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission.