by Tony Annicone
The first show at Trinity Rep in 2023 is the world premiere of “By the Queen” by Whitney White, the Obie winning playwright who is a 2015 alumna of Trinity/Brown. This new show is based on William Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” plays and “Richard III.” White takes the character of Queen Margaret and creates this brand-new show with three women playing Margaret at different stages of her life and also makes it relevant to the 21st Century. She was inspired to do this after viewing “MJ” on Broadway which stars three actors as Michael Jackson. “By the Queen” starts off with Margaret as a princess from France through her ascension to the throne of England, to a long war and her eventual downfall. She is a warrior, a wife, a politician and a mother. In this production, White mixes four Shakespearean plays to create a fully developed character and brings together all the worlds she loves including music, Shakespeare, high quality performative art and entertainment. The first Margaret is naïve, while the second one is more confident and self-assured. The third one is wise as she looks back on her life and explores everything, she did through the years. The three women and five male cast members are onstage the whole show. Margaret has to figure out if all her machinations were really worth it as the three different Margarets look back on her life. They delve into why she did the things she did and even why she helped murder people who got in her way. Director Brian McEleney makes the show grab your attention from the start to the very end. He elicits splendid performances from his eight-member cast as he blends the comic moments of the contemporary show into the more dramatic Shakespearean ones. The combination of White’s splendid script and McEleney’s insightful direction results in a spontaneous standing ovation at the close of this well acted and directed show.
The show starts off with a bang as the three women lead the cast in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” They speak directly to the audience and interact with some of the crowd in the playing area. The first act uses Henry IV Part 1 & 2, where we learn Margaret is a princess from France who is captured by the Duke of Suffolk. Fiona Marie Maguire plays the young girl who receives Margaret’s first kiss. Suffolk is supposed to deliver her to Henry VI but also wants to keep her as his own mistress. Fiona captures the youthful vigor of Margaret 1. This young woman becomes more aware of things as the show progresses. Modern day sensibilities are looked at during these scenes. It is apparent they are no longer acceptable by both the cast and audience.
The show crackles with electricity when Rachel Christopher’s confident and caustic character of Margaret 2 appears on the scene. Her witty line delivery and comic demeanor win the day for this character. Later she turns more serious as she rejects Henry VI’s Uncle, Gloucester, and has him put to death. Afterwards Margaret wants to run off with Suffolk which ends badly. The first act ends with Margaret winning the hearts of England. Act 2 begins with Rachel’s dramatic dialogue from Henry VI Part 3.
This leads into the next section of Act 2 which concerns Richard III. Veteran actress Paula Plum commands the stage as Margaret 3 as she rounds up the other two women to complete their examination of the life of this Queen. She has many comic lines which she delivers marvelously. She looks into the eyes of audience members as Margaret chastises them or questions them. Plum just gives a glance at them to win many laughs all night long. However, she also delivers a dramatic speech from Richard III to mesmerize the crowd before the show ends.
The five men in the show play multiple roles as they deliver the goods both comically and dramatically. Taavon Gamble plays the romantic Suffolk who captures Margaret’s heart although he gives her the first kiss against her will. Jeff Church wins many laughs as the Shakespeare purist who keeps correcting the play to go back to the original text. He also plays the diabolical Richard III, complete with hunched back. Mauro Hantman plays two dramatic roles of Gloucester and York where he gets killed off in violent and dramatic fashion. Matthew Russell plays the religious Henry VI who recites the Our Father the first time, he’s making love to Margaret which wins many laughs. JaQuan Malik Jones plays Warwick and the tragic son, Edward but does many comic turns in the first act to liven things up.
Whitney White adds musical numbers to the show including a fantastic dance number to “I Will Survive” which revved the crowd up to a fever pitch. Let me just say this show isn’t your grandparent’s idea of Shakespeare. So, for a world premiere of a show that will resonate with you and is very relevant for 21st century audiences, be sure to catch “By the Queen” at Trinity Repertory Company. You will laugh and be moved dramatically by this fantastic show. For tickets go to www.trinityrep.com before time runs out. Tell them Tony sent you.
BY THE QUEEN (12 January to 12 February)
Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI
1(401)351-4242
