Exit The King

The Wilbury Group's production of Eugene Ionesco's "Exit the King", directed by Josh Short and Rebecca Noon, is a mixed bag of extraneous dialogue, bizarre narrative and terrific performances.

Eugene Ionesco is a renowned innovator of absurd theater and his non-traditional style is held in the highest regard by fans and select audiences within the performing arts community. Written in 1962, when the playwright believed he was dying, "Exit the King" is a dark comedy about a fallen royal leader who is seemingly unaware that his reign has ended and his kingdom has crumbled -- and that his hours remaining on earth are numbered.

At the very beginning, the audience learns that his majesty, King Berenger I (Jed Hancock-Brainerd), has fallen ill and will die shortly -- specifically, by the end of the play -- much to the delight of his embittered first wife, Queen Marguerite (Rebecca Noon), and to the disdain of his smitten second wife, Queen Marie (Lara Maynard).

Despite the professional opinion of his Doctor (Bobby Casey), the delusional King refuses to accept his grim prognosis and spends the next hour and forty minutes slouching across the stage with intermittent bouts of euphoria and hysteria.

Loyal to the end (and apparently the only remaining inhabitants of his court) are the King's Guard (Jeff Hodge) and maidservant, Juliette (Melissa Bowler). Despite the anticipated outcome, the Guard remains stoic and disciplined, bellowing his majesty's proclamations and remaining wishes, whereas Juliette flounces about, providing sarcastic commentary and a much needed reality check.

Not to be taken seriously, "Exit the King" is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and it certainly has its moments of hilarity, but at its core is an important, profound message. When his time is finally up, the King has an extraordinary breakthrough and realizes how much time was spent wasted on senseless, trivial nonsense, and in the end, none of it matters. Yet the play, as expected of Absurdist Theater, is especially wordy, repetitive and jumbled.

Nevertheless, the production is rife with marvelous, well-directed performances. Hancock-Brainerd's delivery is flawless and perfectly conveys the gentle madness of this everyman King who has spent the better part of his life lost in thought. Noon's portrayal as the elder, intolerant Queen is spot-on and literally drips with attitude, and Maynard is annoyingly adorable as the clueless Queen Marie.

Casey's performance is disturbingly playful and he need mutter only a few words to command the audience's attention. Hodge is wonderful and criminally underused, yet he has his moment in the spotlight as the stolid Guard, and although I envisioned her as much older, Bowler shines as the wisecracking Juliette.

Ionesco fans will be thrilled with this impressive staging of his challenging work, but for those of us not partial to the content, The Wilbury Group's "Exit the King" is worthwhile for its top-notch acting and fine direction.