Richard II (Red Bull Theatre)

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In William Shakespeare’s time and the decades following, his history play Richard II was often banned as subversive for dramatized the deposition of an ordained king. In our time, it is less popular than the other plays in the tetralogy known as The Henriad: Henry IV, Part I and II and Henry V which have a hero Prince Hal who becomes the great king in the final play of the series. Whether because it is all in poetry and includes no prose or that its cast of characters is less well known to Americans today or it deals with a weak king, Richard II remains a rarity today.

Director/adaptor Craig Baldwin has attempted to deal with some of these problems in ways that will bother Shakespeare purists. His revival for Red Bull Theater is set in New York in the 1980s and he uses the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” as the play’s theme song, an ironic title given the plot. He has rearranged the play so it begins at the end with the deposed King Richard in a prison cell, making the entire performance a memory play with the king reviewing his life up until then. Arnulfo Maldonado’s revolving glass box which constitutes the entire set is used as a prison cell, a sauna, a nightclub, a throne room and a castle.

Busy working actor Michael Urie, seen on Broadway in Once upon a Mattress and Oh, Mary! in the past year, gives a bravura performance in the title role where he is on stage throughout, much of the time in his boxer shorts in his prison cell or sauna revealing his buff torso. Not only is Richard portrayed as a party boy more interested in enjoying himself than ruling wisely, in this version he is bisexual, married to his (unnamed) Queen but making out with his boyfriend, his cousin the Duke of Aumerle. (Historians disagree as to whether Richard was gay though they all agree that Edward II, hero of Christopher Marlowe’s tragedy, certainly was.)

If that is not enough, Baldwin has switched the gender of several of the characters adding more women, Shakespeare’s plays famous for usually having no more than two: the Earl of Northumberland is played by Emily Swallow, The Duke and Duchess of York have been merged into one character played by veteran actress Kathryn Meisle, while Richard’s courtier Bushy is now played by Sarin Monae West.

If you know the play, you many have trouble following it as several actors double: Ron Canada plays both John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (Richard’s uncle and Henry Bolingbroke’s father) and later the Bishop of Carlisle. Daniel Stewart Sherman doubles as both Sir Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfork and later as courtier Sir Stephen Scroop. Ryan Spahn is seen as Richard’s favorite Bagot, a Welsh Captain, and as a companion to the Queen. The ending has been changed as there is no Sir Piers Exton: another character comes to murder Richard in his cell, giving a different import to the scene. As there is no Duke and Duchess of York, the Duchess’ defense of her traitorous son after Bolingbroke becomes King Henry IV is given to the Queen instead.

What makes Richard a weak, immature and indecisive king? He begins the play by claiming all he does is by the divine right of kings, which by that time was no longer a valid argument. Then in arbitrating the conflict between his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford and Sir Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk over the suspicious death of the Duke of Gloucester, uncle to both Richard and Henry, he makes a bad decision: he stops the duel and banishes both men, Mowbray permanently, and Bolingbroke for six years. In fact, he may have been complicit in his uncle’s death.

Later when his uncle John of Gaunt, father of Bolingbroke, dies after criticizing his mismanagement, he confiscates his land and estates (that should have come to his son) to pay for his Irish wars. This leads Bolingbroke to return from exile with an army and leads to Richard’s downfall with his poor choice of advisers and having turned his nobles against him. His partying and canoodling in this production only add to his poor management as king.

Urie’s riveting performance is based on physical gestures and he does something on every one of his lines, although at times it seems like too much. However, he is excellent at establishing that Richard is not good at kingship but seems to have other things on his mind. As his rival Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, Grantham Coleman is rather stolid, the opposite of his jovial Benedick in Kenny Leon’s 2016 modern dress performance of Much Ado later the Bishop of Carlisle gives scorching performances in these two roles.

In the combined role of the Duke and Duchess of York, Meisle who has been seen in many Shakespeare plays in the past is fascinating as someone who changes her affiliations as the political climate changes. Swallow is efficient and commanding in the role of the busy Northumberland. Sherman as Thomas Mowbray and Scroop is both stiff but thuggish in both roles. David Mattar Merten is rather restrained as the favorite Aumerle, as though he has not made up his mind who he is. Dressed in Rodrigo Muñoz’s 80s fashions and Bobbie Zlotnik’s wigs and makeup, Lux Pascal is quite glamorous as the Queen that Richard spurns. Also dressed in eye-catching outfits, Sarin Monae West is amusing in several key scenes. Ryan Spahn and James Seol give able support in assorted roles.

Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew’s lighting design for the mainly darkly lit stage is very effective for this production. Among director Baldwin’s original touches are the game of Russian roulette for the duel scene, the courtiers doing lines of coke in the disco scene, and the sunbathing scene for the Queen and courtier Bagot. Muñoz’s 80s costumes with their padded shoulders, well-tailored suits, and occasionally vibrant colors add an element of chic to the story of these royals who are not good at their job. While the diction is clear and excellent, Brandon Wolcott’s sound design is such that the words sometimes get lost on Maldonado’s revolving set. Craig Baldwin’s Richard II gives Michael Urie his best role so far at the same time that it tampers greatly with Shakespeare’s original play.

Richard II (extended through December 21, 2025)

Red Bull Theater

Astor Place Theatre, 434 Lafayette Street, South of St. Marks Place, in Manhattan

For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 800–653-8000 or visit http://www.redbulltheater.com/richard-the-second

Running time: two hours and 35 minutes including one intermission