My cousin has been in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Last night the two of us went to see Shakespeare’s play Richard III at Classic Stage Company (CSC).

The theater setting is intimate. You are sitting very close to the stage and can see all the actors. After seeing the stage setting, I want to return here to see other plays as well. It’s also fun just to see the people who show up to see the play. I thought I spotted at least one celebrity.

I wasn’t familiar with the Richard III play previously, but that didn’t matter because the actors conveyed the story and lines so well. There was no difficulty in understanding the plot or the meaning of what was being said - despite the use of King James English. Michael Cumpsty does a wonderful job of portraying Richard, Duke of Gloucester - a character who plots and connives to kill just about everyone around him on the way to the throne. Cumpsty has a hunchback, walks around the stage with a pronounced limp and describes himself as repulsive in both appearance and character:

I, that am curtail’d of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain …

The Duke of Gloucester (who becomes Richard III) is indeed a murderous and repulsive character - though Michael Cumpsty’s portrayal of him will get the audience laughing and even cheering along for him (and waving flags) to encourage him to take the throne. This protaganist is a real psycho who will surprise you with what he’s willing to do. His evil imagination has no limits. Some of the more surprising scenes in this play have to do with Gloucester killing men and then seeking marriage with the widow or sister of his victim(s).

At the very beginning of the play he courts Lady Anne - even before her husband’s casket is in the ground. He does this even though she knows very well that he is the man who murdered her husband. It makes for quite an interesting conversation.

This and other similar scenes will keep you riveted in your seat, wanting to see what will happen next.

The whole play is well-done. If you are a Shakespeare fan and you are in the NYC area, I highly suggest seeing this play while you still have a chance.

You can read additional reviews here, here and here.