Darryl Maximilian Robinson Observes The 30th Anniversary Of His Staging And Playing King Henry II in James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter" At The Wabash Triangle Cafe In St. Louis
DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON NOTES THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DIRECTING AND PLAYING KING HENRY II IN A MULTIRACIAL CAST REVIVAL OF JAMES GOLDMAN'S "THE LION IN WINTER"!
It was in late November of 1992 that Chicago-born and stage-trained Excaliber Founder Darryl Maximilian Robinson opened, mounted ( for the first time in St. Louis and regional theater history ) and played King Henry II in a culturally-diverse cast revival of James Goldman's historical comedy-drama "The Lion In Winter".
There have been numerous highly-effective and successful stage and screen renderings of James Goldman's most acclaimed stage play "The Lion In Winter" mounted around the U.S. and Europe during the last five decades.
One that might be of interest is Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago Founder and Joseph Jefferson Citation Award-winning Principal Actor Darryl Maximilian Robinson's 1992, non-Equity professional, multiracial cast rendition of the work presented under the banner of Excaliber Productions Ltd. of Chicago at the intimate and lively Wabash Triangle Cafe in St. Louis Missouri.
Mr. Robinson ( critically-praised for his 1984 St. Louis stage performances as Sir Thomas More in Director John Grassilli's staging of Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" at The University of Missouri-St. Louis' UMSL Benton Hall Theatre and as The Cowardly Lion in The Theatre Project Company's traditional musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" staged by Director Deborah Lynn Wickes at The New City School ) directed and starred as King Henry II opposite a talented and racially-diverse cast that included Anna Altman and Deborah Phillips alternating in the role of Queen Eleanor, Carey Means ( a future popular animated television and film voice-over performer ) and Albert Stephens alternating in the role of Prince Richard the Lionheart, Patrick B. Hensler as Prince Geoffrey, Phillip Alexis Watt as Prince John, Louis A. Wells as King Phillip of France, and Anjula Chan ( who also skillfully designed the 12th-century costumes ) as Princess Alais. Talented technician J. L. Watt provided the effective lighting and sound design as well as served as the revival's production stage manager.
Of all of his creative and artistic endeavors during his five years of producing directing and performing plays for audiences under the Excaliber Productions, Ltd banner in The Gateway City, Darryl Maximilian Robinson ( a 2022 Making The World Happening Award Winner for his numerous online theatre-related offerings at Allevents.in ) considers his work ( as an actor and director ) in James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter" a true career highlight!
"Excaliber Production's presentation of James Goldman's The Lion In Winter comes through without a hitch at The Wabash Triangle Café in University City. Though the play ran a bit long the cast did quite well with a few minor exceptions. Darryl Maximilian Robinson's portrayal of King Henry II is a balanced and finely measured combination of greed deceit and compassion...Darryl Maximilian Robinson's staging and direction ( he is the founder and mainstay of this troupe ) work cleanly through an excellent script. I favor the simple set design of black wooden thrones and benches; it allows the actors to do their work without getting in the way. It's an entertaining show overall one I'd recommend seeing." -- Mark Hamilton Intermission Magazine St. Louis Edition Jan. 1993.
30 years later, Darryl Maximilian Robinson ( The Founder of both The multiracial chamber theater The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Los Angeles Archival Project ) is pleased and proud to have worked with this cast and crew and grateful to them for their commitment and contributions to Goldman's wonderful stage play.
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