Word: lebow
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Will Lebow's Lear writhes in an imaginary straitjacket, frothing with rage, his voice audible even over the amplified thunder and wind of Boston Shakespeare's Horticultural Hall sound system...
...Lebow rears his tall bulk up, out of the general confusion at ground level, and almost manages to clear away the smoke Cain's direction pours forth. This is a confident Lear, a rarity considering how many critics believe the role nearly unplayable. Lebow's accomplished command of the Shakespearean line never falters under the unreasonable demands of his role; try shouting "vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts" sometime, for example, and see how easy...
...Lebow doesn't bother to find a profoundly all-inclusive theory for his role; he brings a versatile, booming voice, a carefully controlled set of mannerisms, and a simple human magnetism to the stage, and struggles to maintain them in the face of Cain's slings and arrows. His personal triumph stands far above the "general woe" of the rest of the production...
...Lear as a personal vehicle, it seems a cheat to squander the resources on half-baked ideas, directorial interpretations that aren't followed through, and "innovations" that clash with each other. Cain should either have moved in and molded a Lear to his liking, or sat back and let Lebow carry the evening...
...mechanicals" or "rustics" here--whores, bawds and drunkards fill the streets and prisons. The BSC actors keep these scenes entertaining and colorful, but they never get their fingernails dirty. They're all having too much fun with the lines to look at them carefully and see their pessimism. Will Lebow as Elbow, the Malaprop-like constable--a perfect pantaloon--steals his few scenes...