The Lion In Winter
Guthrie Theatre
Star Tribune- Recommended
"...Goldman's language is lyrical, sonorous and quite contemporary, despite the setting. The cast honors the playwright's poetry with line readings that are deeply felt. Robins' performance, especially, is one to remember. Her Eleanor is a woman of deep feelings who is true in the moment. She may scheme and plot. She may run circles around her children, who tell her to rot. But by finding the deep hunger and want of her character, and delivering her wit, she carries us along with her in her gorgeous, topsy-turvy performance."
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Rohan Preston
Twin Cities Pioneer Press- Somewhat Recommended
"...The unevenness of the performances gives this "Lion in Winter" a sense of discordance. When the grown-ups are battling, the conflict is rich, robust and worthy. When the next generation is squabbling, the production feels like it's stuck at the kids' table."
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Dominic Papatola
How Was The Show- Recommended
"...When The Lion in Winter begins on the Guthrie's McGuire stage (playing through Dec 31), the great red-velvet curtain opens on a timbered, multileveled tower, topped with two tiers of flickering candles. The set, designed by Christopher Ash, deftly invokes the rough-hewn Middle Ages and places all the action at center stage. A soft veil of snow filters down outside the castle walls, but what follows is enough passion, conniving, red-hot personal attacks and fiery temper to warm any Minnesota night from now to New Year's eve."
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Mari Wittenbreer
Aisle Say Twin Cities- Somewhat Recommended
"...James Goldman's The Lion in Winter masquerades as a wickedly comedic, high-stakes battle over a royal inheritance, but when assessed honestly, plays out on stage as a lengthy family squabble. The play itself lacks narrative arc, making the teeter-totter between comedy and heavy drama feel relentlessly cyclical and altogether static. That being said, the Guthrie's adaptation should still be praised for its spot-on casting, glorious set and delightful costuming."
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Ellen Ferry
Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended
"...The Lion in Winter, James Goldman's play now receiving a pulsating production at the Guthrie, takes place over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but this is no A Christmas Carol. The year is 1183, the setting is a French castle controlled by the English King Henry II. Henry, his three living sons, and his mistress Alais (who is betrothed to eldest of the sons, Richard) are joined by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is on a brief holiday release from the house arrest which has confined her for the past ten years. Ostensibly, they are gathered to celebrate the birth of their lord, but there is scant Christian love or devotion on their minds or in their hearts."
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Arthur Dorman
Twin Cities Arts Reader- Recommended
"...There is a great deal of well-played humor in the show with one of the best lines being Eleanor's comment following her horrific verbal fight with Henry where she taunted him with claims that she had slept with this father. After Henry storms out, Eleanor's character states in a deadpan style that "every family has its little ups and downs." But this well-paced play nicely builds to the final climatic scenes. The last scene between Robins and Morrow shows the fragility of these former lions, creating a powerful final moment."
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Bev Wolfe
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