Review: Remarkable ‘Exit the King’ at A Noise Within
- Anita W. Harris
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A play called “Exit the King” seems perfect now when democratic values and personal freedoms are under threat by a president who seems to have monarchical ambitions. Eugène Ionesco’s 1962 play, currently on stage at A Noise Within, does skewer tyrannical behavior, but also makes clear that the tyrant is each of us.
Translated from the French by Donald Watson and directed by Michael Michetti, “Exit the King” is gorgeously staged and both hilarious in the Theatre of the Absurd kind of way that Ionesco helped initiate, and incredibly, existentially poignant.
The play features King Berenger (Henry Lubatti) and his two queens plus doctor, servant and guard — and a seemingly adoring populace who applaud his every word (sound design by Jeff Gardner). Only the populace is dwindling at an alarming rate. And time is not only out of joint, it makes no sense. The sky is literally falling on this kingdom where the monarch was once able to change the very seasons.
Why? Because it’s time for him to let go, according to the meticulous Doctor (Ralph Cole, Jr.) and regal Queen Marguerite (Joy DeMichelle). But the king can’t, or rather won’t. Instead, he wants everything to remain “Me.” His extreme egoism and childish tantrums can’t help but recall the same in our current president — including comparing himself to Jesus — hence the play’s inherent political satire, an aspect of Theatre of the Absurd.
Aided by clowning consultant Matt Walker (of the Troubies) and clownish makeup by Tony Valdés, the king is essentially a clown in a bathrobe (costumes by Angela Balogh Calin), mostly tripping his way around his castle’s throne room (awesome scenic design by Tesshi Nakagawa and lighting by Jared A. Sayeg).
The king is also enamored of his childlike younger queen Marie in a pink tutu (Erika Soto), who does her charming best to keep him in denial about needing to let go. Meanwhile, the Guard (Lynn Robert Berg) heralds every movement within the palace — including those of servant Juliette (a hysterically expressive KT Vogt) — on a public-address system until it eventually goes bust.
As the deadline for the king’s letting go approaches — and nothing seems to be working to shake his attachment to himself, his kingdom, his life memories and his sense of entitlement — more and more of time and space dissolve until only he and Queen Marguerite remain, she whom he has spent hundreds of years avoiding, and even then he clings.
Lubatti as the king is an amazing physical performer, contorting his face and body in ways both subtle and overt as his character expresses himself in reaction to those around him, sometimes tortuously. And both DeMichelle and Soto as the two queens match his energy — the former with a strong and calm demeanor as Marguerite and the latter with pouty petulance in the throes of adoration as Marie.
Such excellent staging and acting make “Exit the King” a must-see play. But the story itself — going all the way “there” with what it means to let go of the self, how it is so very difficult and what it might feel like once achieved — is exquisitely written. Kudos to A Noise Within for offering an opportunity to experience this work in a remarkable, potentially even life-changing, way.
“Exit the King” continues through May 31 at A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, with performances Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call 626-356-3100 or visit anoisewithin.org. Run time is 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.
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