'Richard II' Off-Broadway review — Michael Urie captivates as Shakespeare’s boy king
Read our review of Richard II off Broadway, an adaptation of Shakespeare's historical drama set in 1980s Manhattan and starring Emmy nominee Michael Urie.
Summary
- Shakespeare's Richard II dramatizes the life of a real medieval king who was eventually ousted
- Emmy nominee Michael Urie gives a strong performance in the title role
- The show is recommended for fans of Shakespeare plays and aesthetics of the 1980s (when this adaptation is set)
As you arrive to the Astor Place Theatre and settle in for Richard II, it may take a few minutes before you realize Michael Urie’s performance has already begun. Peer through the tinted back of the enormous glass box on stage and you will see him pacing inside it like a lion in a cage. What better way to portray a king, once all-powerful, now imprisoned?
In a stroke of inspiration, adapter/director Craig Baldwin flips the script on William Shakespeare’s drama. We begin at the end: Richard, stripped of his kingly status and royal accoutrements, bemoans his fate from a jail cell. His voice is velvety, but his eyes are frantic and his hair unkempt. As Richard reflects, he is snapped back to the past, reliving his downfall by examining the events that led up to it.
Baldwin’s Richard II is set in 1980s Manhattan, a choice that becomes more fitting the longer the characters live in it. In a decade known for hedonism and androgyny, Urie’s sexually fluid, insolent nepo-baby portrayal of Richard is right at home. The '80s costumes (by Rodrigo Muñoz) are pops of brightness, flair, and fun against the gritty backdrop, and details like Richard and his Queen (Lux Pascal) having a similar swept-up hairdo make the perfect finishing touches.
Not only that, but medieval nobility easily translates into 1980s fat cats and mafiosos. The Manhattan setting is challenged by how often the script invokes England, but it does give a thrill to hear “this sceptred isle, this earth of majesty... this precious stone set in a silver sea” and to imagine these words describing the island of Manhattan.
Urie brilliantly embodies Shakespeare’s King Richard, infusing him with just enough whimsy and vulnerability to make this manchild pitiable. Pitted against his revolutionary cousin Henry Bolingbroke (an austere Grantham Coleman), Richard may not be in the right, but he sure is fun to root for.
Richard II summary
William Shakespeare’s Richard II is based on the real medieval king who was crowned at just 10 years old. Having come to power at such a young age, Shakespeare portrays the adult Richard as immature, indecisive, and flippant. Faced with a political struggle, Richard opts to exile his own cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, rather than choose a side. As Richard’s tyranny tears the royal family apart, Bolingbroke rises up with an army to sail back to England, oust the spoiled king, and bring order to the country.
What to expect at Richard II
In Baldwin’s adaptation, most of this Richard II is actually a flashback to events that have already happened. Urie’s dethroned King Richard steps back into his own memories to embody his formerly swaggering self, and we watch him retrace the decisions that led him to the jail cell. But not only that, Richard himself is watching. When his past self is not there, the older, imprisoned Richard is witnessing conversations that happened behind his back and reacting to them.
Essentially, Michael Urie as Richard is on stage for the entire 2-hour-and-30-minute run of Richard II, moving tirelessly through the beats of his character’s memory. For many scenes, Richard is content to watch from the sidelines. But in a memorable scene when the Bishop of Carlisle (Ron Canada) prophesies bloodshed as a result of Richard’s dethroning, Richard is there, seated invisibly at the right hand of the new king, cheering silently. This omnipresence — though coming too late for Richard to save himself — deepens Richard's character and heightens the inevitable tragedy when we see him trapped again.
What audiences are saying about Richard II
At the time of publication, Richard II has a 68% audience approval rating on the review aggregator Show-Score, averaged from five reviews. Users praise Michael Urie’s leading performance, while some are put off by the production’s modern setting.
- “Interesting adaptation of a lesser-known Shakespeare play.” - Show-Score user CAROL C 6124
- “This update of the play to the 20th century is an odd fit.” - Show-Score user Crank It Up a Notch
- “Michael Urie gives the performance of a lifetime as R2. Every second he’s on stage, he is the unsteady king.” - Show-Score user TheaterBuff
Read more audience reviews of Richard II on Show-Score.
Who should see Richard II
- Shakespeare lovers will be thrilled to see this stirring production of one of the Bard’s plays which is not often produced in New York.
- Fans of Michael Urie, whether from his recent Broadway work in Oh, Mary! and Once Upon a Mattress or his Emmy-nominated onscreen performance in Shrinking, will be charmed by his sympathetic yet mischievous performance as King Richard.
- People who enjoy 1980s aesthetics will find a unique fit with Rodrigo Muñoz’s colorful costuming and the cutthroat politics of this play about a medieval power struggle.
Learn more about Richard II off Broadway
Michael Urie gives a tour-de-force performance as Shakespeare’s spoiled king in this gritty, neon take on Richard II.
Photo credit: Richard II off Broadway. (Photos by Carol Rosegg)
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