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Frank Langella stars in a reverential ‘Seasons‘
Staff and agencies
By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic 18 minutes ago
NEW YORK - "A Man for All Seasons," Robert Bolt‘s historical drama of moral courage, is one of those plays that comes with impeccable, gold-plated credentials. A London and Broadway success in the early 1960s. Oscar-annointed as best picture for its movie version.
Now, in the play‘s first Broadway revival, Frank Langella has assumed the mantle of Sir Thomas More, and it‘s a natural fit. With a strong, even mesmerizing physical presence, Langella slips easily into costume drama. And his fluid, mellifluous voice is perfect for the series of moral arguments he puts forth to justify his obedience to God, a duty that goes beyond his allegiance to King Henry VIII.
Henry wants an annulment from Catherine of Aragon, so he can marry his mistress Anne Boleyn, a decision the Church of Rome declines to permit. More, as lord chancellor of England, declares his allegiance to Rome, resigns his post and eventually pays with his life for his beliefs.
As portrayed by Zach Grenier, Cromwell is a standard sneering villain, complete with oily, unctuous manners and plummy voice. Equally weasellike is Richard Rich (Jeremy Strong), who personifies opportunism as he uses the case against More for his own advancement. And Henry, too, comes across as appropriately narcissistic in Patrick Page‘s showy portrait.
Gone from this revival is the role of the Common Man, played on Broadway in 1961 by the incomparable George Rose. His everyman persona, not to mention his talking directly to the audience almost like a chatty narrator, might have helped remove some of the stodginess from the production. Even with Langella gloriously emoting on the American Airlines stage, Roundabout‘s "A Man for All Seasons" can‘t quite shake a sermonlike feeling.
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