Zanesville Community Theatre, Inc.
2000-2001 38th Season
(740) 455-6487  

Director's Notes - The Lion in Winter

The Lion in Winter was written by James Goldman and offers a fictional account of events in the life of King Henry II and those he loves. This comedy, through the use of witty, sometimes scathing, language presents us with a castle full of mercurial royalty who struggle with the politics of passion. And the passions of politics. Though there is much to laugh at, and laugh you will, there are moments that we hope will stir your emotions otherwise as elder statesmen contemplate their legacies and the young, as they always do, challenge the old.

This production marks my tenth year in community theatre. In fact,Licking County Players' 1991 production of The Lion In Winter offered my first opportunity on a community theatre stage. Then as now, there was aline in the sand aimed at Saddam Hussein, there was a Bush in the White House and in a small town East of Columbus, a cast and crew endured a half-crazed director who between his snacks offered incoherent insights, incomplete ideas and occasionally something sensible. (Ah, me! Ah, collaboration!)

This play is for actors. There is some small amount of spectacle in the trappings of royalty but ultimately this play succeeds on the strength of actors and the choices they make interpreting the text. I am proud of the work we have put into this production and hope you enjoy it.

I dedicate my involvement to Robert Abdalla; Thank you Conni, Jan, Carl. While I am fortunate to be blessed with a cast of actors from everytheatre company I've worked with it is my wish that if you've ever considered auditioning and have not done so, try it, you may like it.

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