[NEohioPAL]Reminder: The Lion in Winter opens at Coach House Theatre!

[Schaefer, Robert PS]

"The Lion in Winter" opens Thursday night at Coach House Theatre!
 
Coach House Theatre will conclude its 74th season with The Lion in Winter,
James Goldman's epic, furiously witty tragicomedy of royalty at love and
war. Christmas Eve 1183 finds the aging King Henry locked in combat with his
once-beloved queen, Eleanor of Aquitane. At stake: the throne of England.
Henry and Eleanor scheme, plot and rage against each other, while the royal
siblings--Richard, Geoffrey and John--scramble for first place in the line
of succession. The basis for the Academy Award-winning film, The Lion in
Winter, is "a growling, snarling, skin-piercing, skull rattling exhibit
couched in marvelously articulate language...that bristles and burns,"
according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Lion in Winter, will be staged by Guest Director Jeffrey Lynn Hall,
whose resume includes directing stints at Weathervane Community Playhouse,
Shakespeare on the Terrace at Stan Hywett. Professionally trained in
improvisational theatre in Chicago, Hall has performed with Chicago's
Orphaned Babies and is currently artistic director of Beatnik Lingo, Akron's
improvisational comedy troupe. Of The Lion in Winter Hall says, "The play is
challenging because as an audience, we're never really sure when the
characters are telling the truth and when they're role-playing. But the
obvious analogies to theatre and performance also make The Lion in Winter
tremendous fun to direct. I don't think I've ever seen so many ruthless and
manipulative characters on stage at the same time. But what would be
horrifying in real life makes great theatre!"

Hall has assembled an acting company that comprises faces both familiar and
new to Coach House audiences. Coach House Resident Director Jim Fippin will
take the stage as King Henry. His extensive acting resume includes roles in
King Lear, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Getting Out, Another Antigone,
Jesus Christ Superstar, Noises Off, The Who's Tommy and Once Upon a
Mattress. He has appeared on stage at Coach House in Love Letters and
Romantic Comedy. Henry's nemesis, Eleanor, will be played by Marci Paolucci,
last seen at Coach House in The Ladies of the Camellias. Ms. Paolucci has
also performed with Actor's Summit, in productions of A Child's Christmas in
Wales, Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet, and with Queen Bee Productions,
appearing in The Vagina Monologues and Beyond the Pink Zone. The play's four
princes, Richard, Geoffrey, John and Phillip will be played by Scott
Shriner, Tim Bennett, Simon Siegel and Scott Crim. Scott Shriner (Richard)
has appeared in Coach House productions of Sunday in New York (a Royal Coach
award-winning performance), Betrayal and A Shot in the Dark. Mr.. Shriner
has also appeared on stage at Aurora Community Theatre, Weathervane
Community Playhouse and Church Street Players in productions of Proposals,
Loot and Twelve Angry Men. Tim Bennett (Geoffrey) made his Coach House debut
in A Shot in the Dark. His performance resume also includes roles in Gypsy,
Little Shop of Horrors, Candide and Godspell. Simon Siegel (John) is making
his first appearance at Coach House in this production. His previous credits
include roles in Our Town (at Weathervane Community Playhouse), A Midsummer
Night's Dream and Impromptu (at Firestone High School). Scott Crim
(Phillip), whose work as a scenic and lighting designer has been seen in
such productions as Bell, Book and Candle, Chapter Two, Betrayal and A Shot
in the Dark, also has an extensive acting resume which includes roles in
Damn Yankees! at Cain Park, Baby at Stow Players and Cabaret at Weathervane
Community Playhouse. In the role of Alais, Heather Snell is returning to
Coach House where her credits include Bell, Book and Candle, Witness for the
Prosecution, A Delicate Balance, The Constant Wife (for which she earned a
Royal Coach Award) and Towards Zero. Ms. Snell has also appeared with the
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival's in Much Ado About Nothing, and at Cuyahoga
Community College in A Streetcar Named Desire and Sylvia.

The Lion in Winter will open on Thursday, May 23 and continue through
Saturday, June 8, with performances at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday evenings and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. Tickets for The Lion
in Winter are $10 and may be reserved by calling the Coach House Theatre Box
Office at 330-434-7741, beginning May 16. Coach House Theatre is located at
732 West Exchange Street in Akron, behind the Akron Woman's City Club.

 

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Bob Schaefer                            | "Where's the Kaboom?  There's
work: robert.schaefer at pbs.proquest.com  |  supposed to be an Earth-
home: bschaefer1 at neo.rr.com             |  shattering Kaboom!" - Marvin
phone: 330-659-1842                     |  Martian "Hare-Way to the Stars"
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