STAGE WEST: "Henry 6" at Old Globe Theatre

Queen Margaret (Elizabeth A. Davis) leads her son (Cassia Thompson) and troops into battle in Part Two of "Henry 6: Riot and Reckoning."                                                                     Photo by Rich Soublet II

            First of all, congratulations to the Old Globe for accomplishing a feat few other theaters have accomplished: producing over its history all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays – tragedies, comedies, histories.
            In celebration, Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein has taken the “Henry VI” plays, parts 1, 2 and 3, and adapted them into a two-play spectacular titled “Henry 6.” The first half, subtitled “Flowers and France,” covers the lion’s share of The Bard’s “Henry VI, Part 1” and the early going in “Henry VI, Part 2.” The second play, “Riot and Reckoning,” picks up the saga from there and continues on through Shakespeare’s “Henry VI, Part 3.” Along the way Edelstein, who also directs, has done some trimming and added a few contemporary strokes.
            Everything is BIG in this two-part production, from the size of the cast (30 actors playing 60 roles) and their performances, to the versatile two-story set by Lawrence E. Moten III, one that accommodates entrances, exits, lots of raging sword play (credit fight director Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum), a “burning at the stake,” even a stylish choreographed (by Chelsey Arce) dance sequence with a gown-clad chanteuse singing “La Vie En Rose.”  Projections designed by Caite Hevner flash massive talking heads above the stage making grim pronouncements with “I am the great and powerful Oz” gravitas.
            The result is practically nonstop, spectacle-like entertainment that sustains itself over nearly six hours of theater when you combine the two productions. (They should be seen in chronological order, though either would stand up on its own.)
            Part One (“Flowers and France”) and Part Two (“Riot and Reckoning”) are as different as their names imply. The traditionally costumed “Flowers” is talkier, more expository, slower and a wee bit lengthier. “Riot” is louder, darker, far more violent and heavily action-driven. Of the two parts, I prefer the second, though to appreciate it in full it’s best to have seen Part One ahead of time for context.
            Taken in tandem, the narratives coalesce into one overriding and all-encompassing conflict: POWER. Who has it, who wants it, who will rule over not only England but France as well. Will it be Henry VI (Keshav Moodliar) of the House of Lancaster, the “rightful” (in quotes because it’s questioned) heir following the death of his father, Henry V? Will it be Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (William DeMeritt, one of the strongest actors in the cast), who claims down to his marrow that he is entitled to the crown? And later, after the latter is slain, Edward, son of York (Ian Lassiter) props himself, quite literally, on the throne.
            Power is also sought and wielded by those in the sphere of these figureheads, with high ambition at practically any cost the desire of everyone from Henry’s wife Queen Margaret (Elizabeth A. Davis, passionate and stalwart) to the scheming Duke of Suffolk (Gregg Mozgala, who also plays in Part Two the murderous York son Richard, the future Richard III), to the bold and courageous Earl of Warwick (Sofia Jean Gomez, a Globe regular who’s always terrific).
            Key to the events of Part One is the French defiance of English rule, which Charles, Dauphin of France (Jake Millgard) entrusts to the indomitable and endowed-by-God soldier Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc), played with fierce resolve by Cassia Thompson. This will not end well for her, as you know.
            Suffolk has also made a deal to bring Margaret from France to Henry’s castle – to unite the countries, to be the king’s wife and mainly to be close to he himself.
            Meanwhile the hostilities between the houses of the red rose (Lancastrians) and the white (Yorkists) heat up to the boiling point.
            For Part Two, costume designer David Israel Reynoso has clothed the cast in more contemporary dress, compatible with the continuation of the tale that relies less on splendor and more on viscera.
            The one misstep in “Riot and Reckoning” is its opening uprising scene led by Jack Cade (Tally Sessions), a pawn of the plotting York’s. Edelstein has created a facsimile of Jan. 6, with Cade wearing face paint and horned fur hat, rousing the rioters to mayhem, even exhorting them to “Hang Mike Spence!” (a convenient employment of Lancastrian Sir Michael Spence’s name). To me, Jan. 6 was one of the worst days in American history and I couldn’t find this sequence funny or even admirably parodic. Sorry.
            From there on, Part Two is as explosive and carnage-filled as a “Game of Thrones” episode – stabbings, gorings, beheadings, the lot. It all leads up to Henry’s ultimate demise and the seizing of power by York’s sons Edward and Richard. Thus paving the way for “Richard III,” which you may remember the Globe last produced in 2012.
            The moment in Part Two that stands out and which for me is the most poignant and memorable in the entire two-play endeavor arrives when Henry, sitting on a mole hill and flanked by a father who has lost his son and a son who has lost his father, bemoans the bloodshed, the waste, the insanity of war. His pain is echoed by the surviving, mourning father on his left and the surviving, desolate son on his right.
            It’s a beautifully tragic break from the mayhem.
            Possibly demanded by the exigency of war, so many in this sweeping cast seem intent on projecting a combative growl or indulging in urgent emoting, resulting in, acoustically speaking, a lot of popped p’s, bopped b’s and hissing esses -- Moodliar as Henry chief among them.
            There are exceptions. Besides Davis, Gomez and DeMeritt, Sessions can be forgiven his outrageous Jack Cade because of a Lord Talbot portrayal in Part One that credibly runs the gamut of emotion.
            Nathan Hubbard’s percussion and Martin Martiarena’s thunderous guitar, both played live, are there to accent the high drama onstage. Part Two of “Henry 6” especially enjoys a nearly cinematic quality. Shakespeare likely would appreciate the bombast.
            Any way you look at it, “Henry 6” is an achievement, a prodigious undertaking that does credit to both the Old Globe and to The Bard himself.
            “Henry 6” with its two parts running in repertory continues through Sept. 15 in the Old Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davis Festival Theatre.