King Lear (review)

The Harrisburg Shakespeare Company's King Lear was the first show on which I worked as a dramaturg. Still finding my way in this capacity, I contributed little to the production. It nevertheless offered one of the most memorable encounters I have had not only with King Lear but with Shakespeare in performance, largely because of the lead, Sherman Hawkins.

A retired Shakespeare scholar, Hawkins had played the king while studying at Princeton, almost five decades earlier. Later, as a professor at Wesleyan, he had reflected at length upon the character—never anticipating that he would get another crack at it in retirement. Hawkins's command of Shakespeare's language made my support during bookwork almost unnecessary. Yet I worried about the many challenges associated with playing the mad monarch. The director, Clark Nicholson, explains that in casting his Lear, he wanted "an actor who had not only the talent, but also the knowledge, strength, and passion to play the part." Hawkins had previously tackled several small roles for the HSC—the Chief Justice in Henry IV, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, and Gonzalo in The Tempest—but nothing on the scale of Lear.

As rehearsals progressed, Hawkins demonstrated that he was more than up to the challenges of the role. Although a septuagenarian, he seemed "Every inch a king," displaying the intensity of a man who has spent a lifetime holding on to his throne by force of will. At the same time, Hawkins exhibited vulnerability, reminding us that—whatever his title—he was ultimately "a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in both." What most distinguished Hawkins's Lear, however, was remarkable consistency. Even in the throes of madness, reliving encounters with Gloucester from decades past and experiences from schoolboy days, he remained the same person. Through Hawkins's unified portrayal, the audience could glimpse the former Lear—powerful yet capricious—and understand how this tragedy was set in motion many years ago. Hawkins's consistency also made Lear's final confrontation with the consequences of his rash choices all the more poignant.

That said, the production did not redeem Lear. Indeed, Hawkins and Nicholson both saw the character's fall as unrecoverable. The director recalls that they were "unified in our belief that there should be no 'softening of the blow' of the end of the play. This was [Hawkins's] greatest concern, that the harsh and beautiful truths of the final scene would be mitigated by a need for an ending less bleak." The darkness of this vision was underscored by the muted palate of the costumes and the primitive sets—crude obelisks that suggested nature's indifference to humanity.

Alongside Hawkins in "this tough world," other cast members performed with vigor and intelligence. All rose to the caliber of the lead. In the show's post-mortem notes, the cast-representative reports how Hawkins inspired everyone: "If a 77-year-old man could . . . give that much of himself to the character of Lear, then we could put that much and more into our performances. Sherman was a blessing."