The Actors Repertory Theatre Ensemble is not just another community theater company. Its production of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" proves that.
With a high caliber of acting and interpretation, the 31/2-hour production has direction and pace. And the setting seems to have been custom-made for the play."King Lear" is playing at the Castle Summer Theatre near the state mental hospital in Provo. It is built like a castle; everything is made of stone, with a few towers for effect.
There is very little scenery, but that leaves the audience hanging on Shakespeare's words, which are arguably the most important part of one of his most moving and profound plays.
Brigham Young University theater professor Ivan Crosland plays Lear, and his years of experience give all the necessary fervor and depth to the part. Crosland even naturally looks like a King Lear.
As opposed to some of Shakespeare's other tragic figures like Othello, Lear is not a good man. He begins with an ego as large as the kingdom of Britain that he rules.
His daughters Goneril (Kim Abunuwara) and Regan (Janice Power) hate him, and with some reason it seems. A third daughter, Cordelia (Jennifer Erekson), loves her father but will not flatter him or lie to him to receive her inheritance.
Lear divides the kingdom between the older daughters' husbands, the Duke of Albany (Gary Stuart Insch) and the Duke of Cornwall (Benjamin Berneche), and, after disowning Cordelia for not sufficiently expressing her love for him, sends her off to France.
After absolving himself of all managing duties, Lear then proceeds to become a burden to his two remaining daughters, whose hate for him grows ever deeper and stronger.
A subplot is interwoven into the play. Edmund (Richard H. Raddon), the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester (Bob Chambers), feels he will never receive an inheritance because of the conditions of his birth. He concocts a plan to get rid of his half-brother, Edgar (Reese Phillip Purser), and steal the birthright.
Abunuwara and Power are perfect as Lear's eldest daughters. They have similar features and similar looks of hate and jealousy.
Raddon, as Edmund (who is a little Iago in the making), is also good. His youthful looks and clear speech make for a very believably devious character.
Chambers as Gloucester also plays his part well and especially shines when he is blinded. Purser, changing back and forth from Edgar to the crazy man Tom, shows experience and talent.
Others in the production are J. Scott Bronson as the ever-faithful Earl of Kent, J. Todd Adams as the "more-wiseman-than-fool" Fool, and Todd W. Mories as Goneril's steward Oswald.
Bill Myers, Peter Brown, Nathan Criman, Jason Tatom, Brian R. Heaps, David Biesinger, Jay Chambers, Mitch Lee and Elizabeth S. Edmiston round out the cast.
The far-too-sparse crowd that attended the opening night production was well-rewarded. The theater really isn't difficult to find. Just head east on Provo's Center Street and follow the signs.
Utah Valley has talent that is not so hidden, and you really couldn't find a much better way to spend a summer evening. Bring a blanket or sleeping bag.