The Lion in Winter
Mariette Hartley, Paul Turbiak, Ian Buchanan, Doug Plaut,
Paul David Story, Justine Hartley, Brendan Ford.
CAST
(in order of speaking)
SETTING
Henry's Castle in Chinon France
TIME
Christmas, 1183
There will be one 15 minute intermission
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Henry II was great grandson of William the Conqueror and, as
such, was amongst the Norman lineage of kings of England. He was also
grandson to Henry I and the first of the Plantagenets – a lineage of
kings through which England became a nation. During his reign, Henry
amassed large quantities of land, the most prized property being
Aquitaine – one of the richest provinces in Europe – via his marriage
to Eleanor of Aquitaine, arguably the greatest woman of his time. Henry
and Eleanor lived in a period of growth through arranged marriages,
strange bedfellows, and belligerent self-aggrandizing. Brides and
strategic points on the map were the bargaining chips of the Middle
Ages.
In the meantime, music was the voice of the period,
developing out of the repeated notes of Gregorian chant to tuneful
dances and songs. The great Troubadour tradition made militant Lords
accomplished poets and composers of love songs (Eleanor's Aquitaine was
the center of troubadour culture in the West) whilst countries expanded
and contracted through battle and vassals swearing fealty to a liege
and lord – the greatest lord, in 1183, being King Henry II. To be
amongst the emerging class of Royals was to suffer endless infighting
within families for right of inheritance.
Extrapolate this
idea as a larger metaphor for a dysfunctional family’s Christmas
homecoming and you have The Lion in Winter – a 12th century, modern
story.
We cannot touch 1183 but we can feel it through music.
1. Rokatanc – Vox Vulgaris, The Shape of Medieval Music to Come
2.Gaudete Christus est natus – I Castellani Umbri - Natale Medievale
3. The Court: Volez Vous Que Je Vous Chant – Strada, Grantjole: Music of the Trouveres
4. Cantiga 213 – Vox Vulgaris, The Shape of Medieval Music to Come
5. O Madalena ch’andasti al sepolcra – Joglaresa, Magdalena
6. Sitot me soit – Rene Clemensic and Consort – Early Music Masterpieces
7. E Semina Rosa – English Medieval Wind Ensemble and Pro Cantione Antiqua, A Medieval Christmas Feast
8. Generous Palmstroke – Bjork, Hidden Place
9. The Wexford Carol – The Ecclesium Choir, A Christmas Blessing
10. Tant m’abellis – Michael Posch, Music of the Troubadours
11. This Place is Haunted – Devotchka, How It Ends
12. All Tomorrow’s Parties – Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground
All Tomorrow’s Parties
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties
And what will she do with Thursday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud, a hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks, a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
A while ago, a Colony
subscriber sent me an article from the Financial Times denouncing the
practice of non-profit arts organizations (like The Colony) offering
“naming” opportunities in exchange for large donations.
It made me mad.
The
article spoke of “non-profits that have adopted the bottom line as
their operating credo,” and “institutions willing to do anything to
bring in money,” and called “unforgivable” the “crass willingness of
non-profit boards…to sell their institutional tradition, integrity and,
sometimes, their souls.”
Here’s the kicker: the author of the
article is an academic at a major university who has never run a
non-profit arts organization.
He has never had to call a donor
for an emergency loan to make payroll. He has never sat in a board
meeting trying to figure out where the money is coming from to open the
next show. He has never had to contemplate (as we did last year) the
very real possibility that his institution might not survive.
And
yes, it’s true that many of the buildings housing non-profit arts
institutions in this country bear the names of the people who have
given them money. The article referred to these buildings as “monuments
to donors in search of public acclaim or ego gratification.”
Oh please.
Could
we possibly think of our wonderful cultural monuments in Los Angeles as
anything other than The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion, The Mark Taper Forum, The Ahmanson, or The Getty? And looking
beyond LA, could the greatest concert hall in the world ever be
anything other than Carnegie Hall?
These institutions, and
countless others, would not exist without the generous support of
visionary philanthropists, men and women who have had an incalculable
impact on our culture. Their names deserve to live forever.
Barbara Beckley
Artistic Director
SPECIAL THANKS
Brad Brown LA Opera Paul Manganiello Robert Moore's Deli
Michelle Ortiz Frank Tobin Frank Valentini Wadler Data Systems