Sweet Tea Shakespeare's Richard III Is Charismatic, Endearing,
Animated, Spellbinding, Intriguing, and Delightfully Diabolical!

When producing William Shakespeare's Richard III, the most important task is to make sure that the actor playing Richard of Gloucester (1452-85), who guilefully and ruthlessly plots his path to becoming King Richard III (reign: 1483-85), immediately engages the audience. In Sweet Tea Shakespeare's current production (Oct. 8, 9, and 13-16 in the Leggett Theatre in Main Building at William Peace University in Raleigh), David Henderson succeeds -- in spades. This Richard of Gloucester had Thursday's opening-night audience eating out of his hand within moments of his initial flash of that 100-watt smile.

On another note: Because the length of Shakespeare's scripts exceeds the length of the average 21st-century attention span, a humongous challenge is this: deciding where, what, and how much to cut.

I must confess that this is a task that I would be unable to perform; and my hat, therefore, is off to director Wade Newhouse for accomplishing the impossible. Performing an uncut Richard III could easily result in 3½-4 hours of stage time; Newhouse & Co. got the job done in under 2½ hours, and the engaging quality and brisk pacing made it seem like much less. Surprisingly (and even more noteworthy), this "Shakespeare Nerd" (me) did not exit the theater feeling as though there had been any glaring omissions.

Henderson's is not the only stellar performance. Aaron C. Alderman's Buckingham complements him well. Likewise, Miranda Curtis (as Queen Elizabeth), Jessica Johnson (as Lady Anne), and Renee Wimberley (as Duchess of York) all provide Richard with credible "mighty opposites."

The entire cast performs admirably, but I felt that Michael Foley (as an earnest Clarence and a "delightfully dingy" Mayor) stood out, as did Simon Kaplan in the role of Lord Stanley, who must protect his son's life by feigning loyalty to Richard. Laura J. Parker spices her portrayal of Queen Margaret with a witch-ly air that adds credence to the character's ability to successfully curse her adversaries.

The set is simple, yet poignant -- a bare stage with a red cross (signifying the English flag) spanning its length and breadth and a throne placed dead-center.

Using "modern-dress," costume designer Denise Schumaker has skillfully placed this production in "the indefinite present," and the costumes sported by Richard and Queen Margaret earn bonus points.

The music, always a signature of Sweet Tea Shakespeare productions, is wonderfully appropriate and well-executed. Placed upstage left, Diane Petteway (keyboards), David West (bass), Jamie Stanton (reeds), and Bernie Petteway (guitar) not only provide preshow and intermission music but also accentuate and enrich the performance throughout by providing mood-enhancing tunes. Diane Petteway is also entertaining with a bit of preshow and intermission commentary.

David Henderson stars as King Richard III (photo by Wade Newhouse)

Excellent choices:

1. Beginning the play with a preview of Richard's dream on the eve of Bosworth.
2. The staging of the Ghost Sequence.
3. The very imaginative "curtain call."

An interesting moment: the scene in which Richard appears in the company of two priests reminded me of a certain American ex-president who created a photo-op by standing in front of a church with a Bible.

For everyone -- whether or not you are familiar with the play -- this show is well-worth seeing.

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

1. The darkness of the play's mood and themes does kind of support the decision to opt for darkness of lighting, but I found it distracting that several characters spent rather much time outside of the lighted areas.
2. On a number of occasions, characters cross at the back of the stage (out of the light) for no reason that I was able to discern -- which is also distracting, because it made me take time to question the purpose.
3. The use of a flag to signify the coffin of Edward of Westminster probably hampered the ability of non-"Shakespeare Nerds" to appreciate the early Gloucester-Anne scene.
4. Ris Harp and Shaun Schneider performed well; but I found it bothersome that they had been cast as Clarence's murderers, the young princes, and the clerics. This tripling (in addition to Harp's also playing Tyrell) is bound to have caused rather much head-scratching among Shakespeare neophytes.

David Henderson and Laura J. Parker star as King Richard III and Queen Margaret in
Sweet Tea Shakespeare's presentation of Richard III (photo by Wade Newhouse)

William Shakespeare's RICHARD III (In Person and Virtual at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, 9, and 13-16), directed by Wade Newhouse and starring David Henderson as Richard III (previously Duke of Gloucester), Aaron C. Alderman as Duke of Buckingham, Dylan Bailey as King Edward IV/Ratcliffe, Michael Foley as Duke of Clarence/Mayor, Miranda Curtis as Queen Elizabeth, Jessica Johnson as Lady Anne Neville, Renee Wimberley as Duchess of York, Laura J. Parker as Queen Margaret, Tyler Adams as Catesby, Abbe Fralix as Murderer 1/Prince/Tyrrel (week 2), Mary Margaret Hanna as Rivers Ris Harp as Murderer 1/Prince/Tyrrel (week 1), Simon Kaplan as Stanley, Katie Milligan as Brakenbury/Messenger 1/ Richmond soldier, Shaun Schneider as Murderer 2/Prince/Richmond, and Nash Tetterton as Hastings (Sweet Tea Shakespeare in Leggett Theatre in Main Building at William Peace University in Raleigh). VIDEOS: https://www.facebook.com/sweetteashakes/videos and https://www.youtube.com/user/SweetTeaShakespeare. 2022-23 SEASON: https://sweetteashakespeare.com/tickets/. THE PRESENTER: https://sweetteashakespeare.com/, https://www.facebook.com/sweetteashakes, https://www.instagram.com/sweetteashakes/, https://twitter.com/sweetteashakes, and https://www.youtube.com/user/SweetTeaShakespeare. THE VENUE: https://www.visitraleigh.com/listing/leggett-theatre-at-william-peace-university/59630/. DIRECTIONS: https://www.peace.edu/about/locations-directions/. COVID REQUIREMENTS: https://www.peace.edu/health/. THE PLAY: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Richard-III-play-by-Shakespeare, https://www.bl.uk/works/richard-iii, https://www.folger.edu/richard-iii, https://www.rsc.org.uk/richard-iii/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_(play). THE SCRIPT: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/richard-iii/. STUDY GUIDE (courtesy the Utah Shakespeare Festival): https://www.bard.org/study-guides/richard-iii-study-guide/. THE PLAYWRIGHT: https://www.bl.uk/people/william-shakespeare, https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare, https://www.folger.edu/, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare. TICKETS: $22 ($12 students, $20 seniors 55+, and $19 active-duty military personnel and Gold Star Families), except $20 streaming, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 910-420-4383 or [email protected]. PLEASE DONATE TO: Sweet Tea Shakespeare.

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