New Public Theater Production Breathes Majestic Life Into ‘Henry VI’

“Henry VI” isn’t one of Shakespeare’s more frequently performed works, but the trilogy was initially a big hit, and it’s not hard to see why. Likely first staged in the early 1590s, as England’s global power was rising, the plays cover milestones ranging from the Siege of Orleans led by Joan of Arc to the Wars of the Roses, with an emphasis on personal intrigue that makes them more than just manna for history buffs.For the National Asian American Theatre Company’s new production, now running off-Broadway at the Public Theater, director and adaptor Stephen Brown-Fried has condensed “Henry VI” into two plays, subtitled “A Trilogy in Two Parts,” presented in separate performances. The total running time remains substantial at five and a half hours, including an intermission for each show, but rest assured that if you’re still wearing a watch, you won’t be checking it.That’s because Mr. Brown-Fried has enlisted a host of superb actors, many of whom juggle two or more roles, to mine the emotional and psychological dynamics that make these characters compelling, along with collaborating designers whose sleek style and state-of-the-art technical expertise add both ferocity and elegance to the production.Costumes provided by the collective threeASFOUR are predominantly black and white with increasing flashes of red, the latter colors corresponding with the roses representing the Houses of York and Lancashire, respectively, in their struggle for control of the English throne during the mid-to-late 15th century. Part One unfolds as the foundation for those wars is being laid by the country’s loss of territories to France; the French are clad primarily in white, to striking effect, particularly in the early battle scenes.Fight choreographers Orlando Pabotoy and Kimiye Corwin, who are also credited as movement directors — Ms. Corwin turns in a feisty performance as the Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader and also serves as intimacy coordinator — give these scenes and later ones both a distinctly theatrical grace and an intensity worthy of action movies. The performers move in slow motion at points, which reminded someone seated near me at a recent preview of the “Matrix” series.When characters are killed, the actors playing them gradually rise and slowly exit the stage, zombie-like; at times, if their murderers are especially pernicious, they linger as if to haunt them. Mextly Couzin’s flickering, searing lighting and Kate Marvin’s rumbling sound design further underline the dark omens lurking everywhere.All of this would just be icing, of course, were it not for the commanding performances delivered here, starting with Jon Norman Schneider’s in the title role. As a young monarch — Henry inherits the throne at just nine months old, after his father dies — comes across as malleable and somewhat hapless, often emphasizing his tenderness in years as he tries to work through the civil and foreign conflicts that keep popping up and festering.James Yaegashi, Jon Norman Schneider, Paul Juhn, and Teresa Lim in Part One of ‘Henry VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts.’ HanJie ChowTowards the end of Part One, though, as his beloved uncle and protector, the Duke of Gloucester, played with wry warmth and dignity by a characteristically excellent Mia Katigbak, one of the founders of NAATCO, is betrayed and slaughtered, the king seems to discover his spine. Mr. Schneider evinces his anger as powerfully as he does the despair that encroaches on him in Part Two.France’s Margaret of Anjou, taken by the manipulative Duke of Sussex to be his mistress and Henry’s queen, is a catalyst in this despair, and Teresa Avia Lim brings great zest to the role, evolving from a plucky ingenue into an entitled, scheming shrew who proves more than capable of finishing off Rajek Bose’s witty, robust Duke of York. Myka Cue proves similarly mighty as the nobler Joan of Arc, managing her fight scenes with spry relish.Other actresses, like Ms. Katigbak, tackle male characters with aplomb, notable among them Julyana Soelistyo, who as one of York’s sons, Richard, seems to loyally support his brother Edward — a preening brat, in David Shih’s amusing portrait — in his claim to the throne. But those familiar with these plays know that Richard, as he eventually confesses to the audience, has more selfish ambitions.His progress is documented, of course, in “Richard III,” a more popular showcase for generations of leading actors. If “Henry VI” hasn’t proven as big a draw through the years, this juicy adaptation certainly presents a good argument for revisiting it more often.

New Public Theater Production Breathes Majestic Life Into ‘Henry VI’

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