History for the Fun of It

It’s 1183 and Henry II, King of England, is coming to the end of his reign. Born in France, Henry had a fairly spurious claim on the throne but managed to gain it anyway.

His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him large land holdings, thanks to her previous marriage to Louis VII of France; on his own, he began the uniting of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. He had quarreled with Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket and revolutionized for the better the British legal system.

But Henry was beginning to lose power, fighting with the French over his properties in that country and with his own wife and sons over England.

Such is (in movie parlance) the “back story” to James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter,” now playing at the Ojai Arts Center Theater.

With lines of succession not yet traditionalized, two of his three sons were willing to go to disturbing lengths to become king; Henry favored young John; Eleanor--imprisoned by Henry for treachery--supported the older Richard. A third son, Geoffrey, stood by and watched. As the play opens, Henry has released Eleanor from prison (confinement to a castle, actually) to be with her family for Christmas. Like many family holidays, it’s tense, none the less for having Philip, the French king, hanging around trying to stir things up still further.

Well, as an exasperated Eleanor sighs at one point, “every family has its ups and downs.”

All this is played out in grand style by an able cast under the direction of Tom Eubanks. Jesse Lovejoy and Simone Sheppard head the group as Henry and Eleanor; Nick Crane, Zachary Pugh and Christopher Jones are sons John, Geoffrey and Richard, respectively; Alex Hillariet plays King Philip, and Grace Carter plays Alais, at once Henry’s mistress and fiancee to the reluctant Richard (again, property is at stake).

It’s hard to assess how Shakespeare missed this material, but Goldman handles it well, giving the dialogue a Shakespearean tone without being heavy-handed about it and including considerable humor, together with some 20th-century attitude. If English history had been this much fun in school, we might have remembered that (1) Henry II was first of the Plantagenets and (2) that Richard went on to some renown as Richard the Lion-Hearted.

DETAILS

“The Lion in Winter” continues Thursdays and Sundays at 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through March 18 at the Ojai Center for the Arts, 113 S. Montgomery St. Tickets are $12; $10, seniors and Arts Center members. Children would be bored. For reservations or information, call 649-9443.

Early Woody in Camarillo:

It’s a wonder that, with such a strong local appetite for Neil Simon’s comedies, Woody Allen’s plays don’t get more local exposure. So we should savor Camarillo Community Theater’s current production of “Play It Again, Sam.”

Like Simon, Allen’s specialty is characters that are (one would suspect) at least somewhat autobiographical. Such is the case with Allan Felix, critic for a hoity-toity film magazine. Recently divorced, Allan is having trouble jumping back into the dating pool, despite the best efforts of his longtime friend Dick and Dick’s wife, Linda. Then, along comes a manifestation of tough-guy actor Humphrey Bogart, offering rather different advice on how to deal with women.

The play is very funny and would be very Woody Allen even if Will Shupe didn’t virtually reproduce the writer’s speech patterns and mannerisms under Don Pearlman’s direction.

It’s not the only, or maybe even the most interesting, way to play Allan Felix, but Shupe is talented enough to pull it off.

Other actors include Richard Wylie and Sara Stuckey as frazzled businessman Dick and the captivating Linda; Melanie McGuire as one of Allan’s failed dates; Cynthia Cynko Zipser as Allan’s former wife; and Kathi Janca Gravino as several women in Allan’s fantasies. Sergio Bertolli, in a trench coat and slouch hat, effectively channels Bogart.

DETAILS

“Play It Again, Sam” continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 12 at the Camarillo Airport Theater, 330 Skyway Drive, Camarillo Airport. Tickets for all shows are $12, adults; $10, seniors, active military and students; and $8, children (although the material really isn’t suitable for youngsters). For reservations or further information, call 388-5716.

Todd Everett can be reached at teverett@concentric.net.