Creative Stage Resolutions and Centuries are Wittily Mixed in The Old Globe's Productions of Henry VI

A San Diego Theatre Milestone Condensed into Two Performance Nights Currently Playing Until September 15 

A Blog View by Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti

William DeMeritt as York with the cast of Henry 6. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

It is sometimes complicated to approach works when there is so much to cover. With Henry 6 at the Old Globe, a project with years in the making, and an important notch for San Diego, I felt overwhelmed. A series of three history plays by William Shakespeare condensed into two: One: Flowers and France and Two: Riot and Reckoning. I decided to catch them back-to-back so it would feel like one. It reminded me of similar experiences like Angels in America Part One and Two or A Doll's House. 

Henry covers the death of Henry the V, the crowning of Henry the VI at 9 months old, the loss of England's French territories, and the civil wars that followed known as "the wars of the roses", where basically monarchs and patriarchs fought for pretend and imposed lineage rights and everything authority. Going again with reminders, this reminded me of all the Spanish drama with Carlos V son of "Felipe el hermoso" (Philip the Handsome), and "Juana la loca" (Juana the Crazy) who became the king of Spain at 16. Anyways...

Keshav Moodliar. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

The Globe is known for its beautiful and elaborate set designs, especially for Shakespeare plays during the summer. With Henry, Lawrence E. Morten III's scenic design is practical, innovative, and functional having columns and stairs where the actors can go up and down and run to and from along with Caite Hevner's projection design that accentuated the frames with stained glass windows, English or French shields, depending on the scene, and projections of the people in the kingdom or beings from other planes portrayed by San Diego community members which was also practical and a smart choice on director Barry Edelstein's part who guided a cast of 30 artists that played different roles between the two plays and some within the two plays:  Elizabeth A. Davis as Margaret and Chanteuse William DeMeritt as York, Sofia Jean Gomez as Warwick, Alex Guzman as Westmorland and Rioter, Mahira Kakkar as Eleanor, Mortimer, and Iden, Ian Lassiter as Gloucester and Edward, Jake Millgard as Charles, Bolingbroke, and King Louis, Keshav Moodliar as King Henry VI, Victor Morris as Salisbury Gregg Mozgala as Suffolk and Richard, Mike Sears as Cardinal, Old Clifford, and Father Ella Serrano as Rutland, Tally Sessions as Talbot and Cade and Cassia Thompson as Joan and Prince Edward.

The design also included a circular platform that moved which pumped the scenes and gave the actor on it an added boost with Mextly Couzin's lighting design that went from a cold bright white to a dim, warm amber, to an abrupt black that took audiences to a nice timed catharsis. A stage elevator brought up, thrones, bedrooms, and everything that required a fantastic grand entrance. At the back of the stage, two large kingdom fortress-like doors opened and closed giving the air a royal, yet suspenseful feel. 

With two musicians playing on the house right, percussionist Nathan Hubbard and guitarist Martín Martiarena, the pieces contained very Hollywood, intense musicalized scenes, courtesy of Julián Mesri's original music.

(L) Mike Sears, Ian Lassiter, Elizabeth A. Davis, Keshav Moodliar, Victor Morris.
 Photo by Rich Soublet II.

Seeing the up-and-coming, faces of tomorrow is exciting. In Globe tradition, the plays included The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program artists: Danny Adams as Reignier, Tutor, and Saye, Kevin Alicea-Minor as Messenger, Hume, and Bevis, Jose Balistrieri as Priest and Young Clifford, Luana Fontes as Countess, Murderer 1, and Smith, Chris Hathaway as Jailer, Southwell, and Holland, Madeline Grace Jones as Bastard, Ship’s Captain, and Dick, Angelynne Pawaan as Lawyer, Jourdain, and Jailer, Carter Piggee as Somerset, Akoni Steinmann as Talbot’s Captain and Clarence, Vandous Stripling II as Buckingham, Emma Svitil as Burgundy, Chaplain, and Messenger, Michael Underhill as John Talbot, Spence, and Son, and Lisa VillaMil as Valet, Murderer 2, and Michael. I especially loved seeing my tocaya, Alejandra Villanueva who had been a stagehand and understudy for some of the Globe for All productions, come on to the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre and show her histrionic chops.

Cassia Thompson as Joan in Henry 6. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

From what I gathered, the trilogy was distributed on show one with parts one and two, and then, show two, with parts two and three. With the first part, Flowers and France I felt it to be more serious, grasping a lot of historical context and being flashy -in a good way-. Keshav Moodliar as King Henry gives audiences a nice character development along the two plays bringing naiveness as the young king to then grow into his own, not being the strongest leader, and surely whipped by wife Margaret, who in Spanish we would describe as "más canija que bonita" (translates to something like more mischievous than pretty) and strongly portrayed by Elizabeth A. Davis, who gave battle, poise and a beautiful rendition of Édith Piaf's La Vie en Rose when playing a French Chanteuse during a memorable celebratory scene that was witty, mixing in different centuries while meshing the cultures to have it make sense on everything that was happening. I also liked Keshav's hair choice for the role as it played with his long locks combining it with a hairband. Mahira Kakkar gives a powerful rendition of Eleanor and has good chemistry with James Joseph O’Neil as Gloucester. William DeMeritt is hefty as York and delivers powerful, intense lines with an "if looks could kill" vibe that immerses audiences. 

The story because of its combative nature, has a substantial dose of screams, and sword whistling but also, hollow, heavy silences. The music along with Melanie Chen Cole's sound design brought coherence and balance; Emmelyn Thayer and Jesse Perez's voice and text coaching were reflected in the wordy and complex dialogues, helping the thread to understand the story.

I need to dive into Gregg Mozgala the actor who plays Suffolk in part one and the wicked Richard in part 2. Mozgala has cerebral palsy and on his website, the headline reads "TRIPLE THREAT: Actor, writer, cripple", I almost feel like writing an essay because I consider this to be a watershed in true inclusion, how it really can be done, and how great and meaningful it can truly be. His Suffolk in part one, the master tangler and adulterer, is sharp with scary determination, and his Richard in part two, well, the delusion goes from 1 to a million. Richard III has a curvature in his spine and there is a moment when he addresses the audience through soliloquies:

The cast of Henry 6. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

"Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,

Have no delight to pass away the time,

Unless to spy my shadow in the sun

And descant on mine own deformity.

And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,

I am determined to prove a villain

And hate the idle pleasures of these days."

Both roles have good blockage and mad intention. The Globe is hosting a Salon Series on Saturdays and on September 7th, the topic will be Shakespeare and Disability: Discussing Disability Representation in Shakespeare’s Plays. We saw Ali Stroker win a Tony in 2019, and she came out with a cool concert on Audible... again, I associate and digress...I am glad we got to see an artist like Gregg and I hope to see more of these artists on the San Diego stages regardless of dramatis personae/character glossaries. 

Barry's direction intertwines both clusters of actors accomplishing solid scenes and what is most important and almost lost in these scrolling times, the audience's attention. San Diego's own, Mexican paisano, and now Tony Award nominee! David Israel Reynoso designed costumes that not only fit the narrative but the times of that narrative combined with current times meshing a long velour gown with combat boots or net stockings and sleeves. The color pallets were also interesting using darker tones like navy blue, burgundy, of course, lots of black, with gold accents because you cannot have royalty without gold, creating a visual feast that complimented all the happenings. Joan of Arc's design with black, gold, and silver, with the combat boots, was a total popper. Cassia Thompson does a lovely job also showing off Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum's fight direction, fitting the many combat scenes in the plots. There is a lot of running on both productions and Chelsey Arce's choreography meshed right in as a palate cleanser creating balance while adding some cool moves during the celebrations. 

The falcons, one of the many symbols of this story and part of Shakespeare's birds, are represented here through beautiful and realistic puppetry that definitely adds to the visual components. One of the interesting aspects of these productions is the stage resolution, like how are these scenes going to be resolved for this whopper of a story? It was creative, practical, and innovative. Part 2, Riot and Reckoning was seasoned with a Henry-esque adaptation of a certain and now historical event that happened in January 2021. From the makeup to the attitude and the flags, Tally Sessions as Cade, is superb. 'Reckoning is a tad shorter than 'Flowers and it also feels like it goes by faster. This is no spoiler so do not come for me ok? there are many deaths and that could cause fatigue. Edelstein's solution to the literal bloodbath was clever and crafty, combating the possible fatigue. Now, telling you about that would be a spoiler so you have to go and see it for yourself.

Tally Sessions as Talbot in Henry 6. Photo by Rich Soublet II.

Sofia Jean Gomez, Alex Guzman, Jake Millgard, Victor Morris, Carter Piggee, Mike Sears, and Jose Balistrieri: I always like acknowledging the stage presence, and participation of local actors on the bigger stages. The different latitudes combined into the scenes is exciting. It also makes me think about how a production of this caliber would look with all local actors. 

It is said that the HBO hit Game of Thrones, drew its inspiration from the Wars of the Roses, hence Henry, sans the dragons, etc. This Saturday, the topic in the Salon Series will be just that: Shakespeare and "Game of Thrones". I admit to having serious doubts about this production but credit where credit is due because not only is this one of the highlights of the theatre year in San Diego, it is a milestone that marked the completion of the Bard’s canon at the Globe, and it was a lot of fun.

The Henry VI trilogy was written out of chronological order and the three plays are often grouped with Richard III having it all be a tetralogy. I would have gone to three nights of theatre in a row with no issue but I can understand how complicated and expensive this can be.

Maybe we can close this out by having Richard staged next summer?

Get organized and be a part of this milestone. One: Flowers and France is currently playing until September 14 and Two: Riot and Reckoning is also currently playing, ending its run on September 15 which is the eve of the anniversary of the Mexican Independence, yay! ( no people, it is not May 5th).

For ticket prices and more information please click HERE.