
One of Shakespeare’s Greatest Tragedies – and Least Staged
By Eric Marchese
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “King Lear” are widely regarded as the greatest tragedies ever written for the stage.
Of these, “Lear” is produced less frequently, perhaps because of the difficulties in casting the title role.
Now, the Aliso Viejo-based Renaissance Theatre Company is offering Orange County theatregoers the opportunity to see this monumental, yet rarely staged, classic.
Homing in on a Classic
Artistic director Jeremy Golden said RTC, founded in 2015, last produced a Shakespeare with its 2019 staging of “Hamlet.” Golden also teaches theatre and directs at Aliso Niguel High School, with RTC renting space from the school district for its performances.
It’s a family affair: Golden’s wife, Jennifer Golden, is RTC’s managing director and, as producer of “Lear,” coordinates all aspects of the production to make sure they all happen as they should, and is cast as Goneril.
Jeremy Golden calls the play “the pinnacle of Shakespeare’s prowess in tragedy. The story itself, like most of his works, is borrowed from another source, but it is not just the story that makes this play so significant.”
Shakespeare’s command of verse and prose, he said, is “unparalleled in English tragedy. The characters are strong and deep, and the truths spoken by those characters strike to the heart of all of us, even to this modern day.”

Themes That Resonate
Director Bruce Gilman sums up the show’s themes thusly: “The core of our civilized lives – our families – are threatened from within by the forces of jealousy, pride, and greed, while worldly political and environmental forces repeatedly test our ethics and our courage.”
He said Shakespeare “makes it easy” for a director to depict the downfalls of the two key families: “Goneril and Regan, Lear’s eldest daughters, are power-hungry in their own right. Each competes to seduce Edmund, who will assure one of them an increase in lands and prestige, since he is a victorious leader in battle.”
The truths within Lear, Golden notes, “are ones that modern audiences need to hear: The dangers of hubris, the value of loyalty, the difference between self-serving actions and humble servitude of love. We can all learn a lesson here.”
Challenges in Directing This Great Tragedy
Director Gilman says that “for some viewers, this play may feel like one of Shakespeare’s darkest scripts. The idea that not one but two intertwined families experience their downfall simultaneously makes the play a challenge to watch and to appreciate – but Shakespeare makes his lessons about bad behavior clear.”
For “Lear” to work, he said, “Shakespeare’s language must be accessible, his plot must be understood, and his characters must be visceral – and real.”
Gilman said RTC’s intent “is to make this production ‘immediate.’ There are few props used, the staging is purposely simple, and the actors work close to the audience. All these moves intend to underscore the primacy of Shakespeare’s text and the talents of our actors.”

Suiting the Text to Today’s Audiences
Golden notes that “the imagery inherent in the text can be a challenge to maintain in the telling of a concise story – one that isn’t four hours long, as the uncut original can be. The play also travels quickly from place to place, making it a challenge to get across changes of time and place without said scenic devices.”
Golden adds that with the original being “upwards of four hours long, cuts are required for modern audiences. The challenge was to keep the vivid imagery and poetry while keeping a clean and tight storyline. The cutting we made strikes a good balance, keeping our audiences for under the expected two-and-a-half hours.”
Director Gilman said tightening the running time by 30 to 45 minutes “helps the audience concentrate on the struggles within Lear and Gloucester’s clans, making it clear how inter-family battles can lead to widespread tragedy.”
Finding the Right Lead Actor and Cast
Gilman said that whoever plays Lear “must have a well of energy and a capacity for reflection that guides their fellow actors with grit and inspiration.”
He said Golden had previously worked with lead actor Charles Massaro in RTC’s staging of “Hamlet,” noting that “Lear” “has been a longtime, shared dream” for Golden and Massaro.
As Golden astutely notes, “It has often been said that once an actor is old enough to play Lear, he is too old to play Lear. We caught our Lear at the perfect crossroads in his career. Charles just retired as a schoolteacher this past year, so he had time to devote to the role while still young enough to have the mind, voice, body, and energy required to portray the role with the required vigor.”
Gilman said classical training “can initially help actors with Shakespeare’s meter and rhythm, but ultimately what a cast member most needs is dedication to the work and to their fellow cast members.”
“Good actors, no matter their training, manifest those qualities. We’re fortunate to have that thoughtful, dedicated group of actors from a variety of backgrounds, who mean to interpret ‘Lear’ with force and emotional depth.”
Right behind Massaro, as Lear’s daughters, are Jennifer Golden as Goneril, Samantha Haase as Regan, and Callie Dale as Cordelia.
Alexandros Ruppert is cast as Edmund, Micah Munck as Edgar, May Woodrow as Kent, Robert Purcell as Gloucester, Michael Cranford as Albany, and Paul Burt as Cornwall, with Golden himself fulfilling the role of The Fool.
Sage Schaarsmith is double-cast as Oswald and France, and Aaron Pelt plays Burgundy and a Knight. Megan Alvarez, Abigail Kirland, Carla Naragon, Alyssa Saldana, Sydney Schaarsmith and Magan Tran are the production’s ensemble.
Gilman is assistant-directed by Sandy Gilman. The design team is Peggy Irirate (costumes), Jason LaPorte (lighting), Grady Dimapilis (sound), and Marc Denton (props), with Talia Ackerman-Hirsch working as dramaturg and Michele Atkins as stage manager.

A Final, Tragic Development
Golden said that overall, beyond the expected challenges, the company’s biggest hurdle has been “the untimely passing of Tom Rolapp, our Duke of Cornwall, on December 30.”
“We had been in rehearsals for a full month-and-a-half when we received the devastating news. Paul Burt has been an excellent understudy for Tom, but Tom’s loss overshadows our whole process. We dedicate our performance to his love for the stage, his passions, and his memory.”
Eric Marchese has written about numerous subjects for more than 40 years as a freelance and staff journalist at a wide variety of publications, but is best known as a critic, feature writer and news reporter covering theatre and the arts throughout Orange County and beyond.
‘King Lear’
Renaissance Theater Company
28000 Wolverine Way, Aliso Viejo
January 24 - February 2, 2025
(949) 415-6280, www.RenTheatreCo.org
Comments