King Lear
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Lisa Peterson
California Shakespeare Festival
Bruns Amphitheater, Orinda
Sept. 19-Oct. 14, 2007
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Photo by Kevin Berne.

Shadowy men beat on oil drums and furtively beg as elegantly dressed courtiers cross the stage. Fathers alienate themselves from loving offspring; the rich turn their backs on the poor, the young on the old and schemers hatch plots of power. Clarity turns to madness and back again. If it’s conflict you seek, Shakespeare’s “King Lear” has plenty and never so much as in Lisa Peterson’s Depression-era staging at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda. If you want to grab an al-fresco snack at this lovely venue, be sure to do it before the lights go down. Once it starts, “Lear” is no picnic. It is, however, a soul-searing theatrical experience.

Peterson has done much to make this story of the father who divides his kingdom not wisely but to assuage his vanity audience-friendly. There is no lofty Shakespearian declamation. The entire cast seems to take its cue from the lead, Jeffrey DeMunn as the most human Lear this critic has seen since the late Peter Ustinov strode down the Stratford (Ontario) stage some 25 years ago smoking a cigar. DeMunn comes to this role with an impressive string of Broadway, film and television credits and he makes it his own. Whether railing in anger at some real or imagined slight, reeling with the madness born of grief, or mourning the death of the daughter he loved, DeMunn’s Lear is a real, recognizable man and yet, “every inch a king.”

The Cordelia is no match for him. UC Berkeley graduate Sarah Nealis is a weak princess especially compared to her evil sisters, Goneril (Delia MacDougall) and Regan (Julie Eccles). And weakness does not translate into goodness. The usually fine MacDougall has adopted a curiously sing-song delivery here but Eccles’ haughty Regan is spot-on. The strength of this cast is mainly in the men. Outstanding, in addition to the title character, are ACT’s Anthony Fusco as a fine Fool, James Carpenter, majestic as the Earl of Gloucester, and Andy Murray as the loyal Kent. Erik Lochtefeld, who played the hapless hero in Berkeley Rep’s recent “Pillowman,” begins as a bespectacled bumbler in the role of Gloucester’s son Edgar and hits a magnificent stride when he goes into hiding, first as a madman and then as his blinded father’s anonymous guide. Ravi Kapoor is Gloucester’s other son, the slimy schemer Edmund, who does much to topple Lear’s kingdom, and CalShakes stalwart L. Peter Callender the bloodthirsty Cornwall.

Costumes, flapper-era dresses for the ladies and uniforms and rags for the men, are by Meg Neville. Rachel Hauck’s set design, a towering grid of rusted steel girders and the aforementioned oil drums, works well with the bleak mood of the drama. Alexander V. Nichols did the lighting and the storm on the heath must be something to see in the dark of night. Unfortunately this review is of a sunny Saturday matinee. But even without simulated lightning, CalShakes strikes sparks with this “King Lear.”

Suzanne Weiss