REVIEW: New “To Leer At Lear” a Delicious Whopper of a Parody at Moline’s Black Box
Befitting his ambition and intelligence, Alexander Richardson has written a whopper of a new play, given a madcap, emotional, assured world premiere at Moline’s Black Box Theatre.
“To Leer At Lear” – a comedic re-telling of Shakespeare’s immortal, iconic “King Lear,” and a play within a play – is the latest production of Richardson’s Barely There Theatre, a hybrid company he founded in 2021 during the isolating pandemic. Its goal is to make theater available and accessible to anyone, free of charge.
In person and in its podcast, Barely There performs works in the public domain as well as original pieces penned by the prolific Richardson, such as his “An All-American Riot,” premiered in September 2024 at the intimate 60-seat Black Box (1623 5th Ave., Moline), which artistic director Lora Adams has generously made available to outside organizations and performers. William Shakespeare was also the inspiration for “All-American Riot,” based on the real-life 1849 New York City riot fueled by a feud between rival British and American Shakespearean actors.
Jack Bevans, left, and Jeremy Mahr as Boro in “To Leer At Lear,” at Black Box Theatre.
Richardson brilliantly takes the concept of turning of the infamous tragedy “King Lear” on its head and presents the story in a whole new, hilarious light. Also directed by the multi-talented playwright (who did lights for the last Black Box show, “Fun Home”), “To Leer At Lear” boasts a cast of nine Quad-City talents playing parodies of typical artists you would find in any given community theater.
While that’s how he described the characters in his press release, seeing the show revealed the roles more suited to stereotypically arrogant, selfish performers who are more focused on scheming and back-stabbing than putting on the best show possible. In my community theater experience, I’ve found nearly all performers (typically volunteers) are warm-hearted, humble, tremendously cooperative and a pure joy to work with.
In contrast, “To Leer At Lear” is more like a UFC ring, where it’s survival of the fittest and meanest, to win at any cost. The character here who represents the typical QC actor best is Adrienne Evans as the passionate Allison, who late in the play pleads that she does theater to find community – “to get out of the house and out of my head.”
Richardson (whose bio says he’s been part of 140 productions, from opera to world premieres, including directing and writing) works on an average of 10 productions a year. In his program note, he wrote that each presents its own challenges.
Jack Bevans, left, Ann Keeney-Grafft, Evan Gagliardo, Tyler Henning, Elane Edwards, Adrienne Evans, and Jeremy Mahr.
“Each go around feels insurmountable. There’s never enough budget or rehearsals or time to get everything done and yet, somehow, despite it all, it gets done,” the author says. He calls theater “people on stage pretending to be human and teaching the people in the audience how to be human. It’s collective pretend, where anyone can come and imagine there’s a world unfolding in front of them that includes them.”
Why did Richardson take on the titanic tragedy of “Lear,” and satirize it? The story often makes no sense, but we never question it “because the characters of Lear have so many opportunities to set things right yet they never do,” he wrote. “They continue barreling to their bleak ending because that’s what the story demands, no matter how badly the audience wishes it didn’t.”
“To take the tragic and make it funny seems insurmountable,” Richardson wrote. “That this cast of extraordinarily talented artists has somehow managed to do so feels like a small slice of magic.”
Jeremy Mahr, left, Jack Bevans and Adrienne Evans in “To Leer At Lear.”
He wields his pen like an expert painter’s brush, creating a new world of mad, mad magic on stage while reflecting some key plot points from “Lear” in the midst of some awfully silly shenanigans. “To Leer” starts with the always mesmerizing, imposing Jeremy Mahr as the old, mourning monarch rehearsing the actual tragedy, wailing over the death of a daughter.
The domineering, frustrating director Sam (a wonderfully frazzled Noel Jean Huntley, getting her deserved attention) has many notes, which don’t please Mahr’s Clarence.
Tyler Henning nails the loud, obnoxious producer Scott, who’s under pressure to make money or close the theater. In an effort to get butts in seats, this company has chosen to put on only “high-art” shows — that is, those with name recognition. Unfortunately, Scott didn’t know that “King Lear” is so sad, so he orders his cast and crew to go on with the show — but as a comedy.
That’s a bridge too far for Clarence, who storms out, leaving the company without a lead four days before opening night. Mahr soon returns with a replacement for Lear, a purple puppet bear named Ouroboro (operated a la “Avenue Q”), designed by Richardson’s wife Sydney. And to magnify the silliness factor, Scott announces that he’s found a corporate sponsor for the show, which will cause only minor changes to the dialogue and title, now “Burger King Lear.”
While we never see an actual rehearsal again as the days dwindle down to opening, the company inadvertently recreates the plot of “King Lear” in their real lives, including Sam being banished and returning in disguise as a working-class stagehand, Tom, and Scott being blinded by mace, fumbling his way around.
There’s requisite onstage drama, where actors argue and try to backstab each other in order to get the most amount of stage time. Then there’s the backstage drama, where staff and management battle it out for the future of the company, including the leading insurgent – an excellent Elane Edwards, the most devious schemer as Sam’s devilishly plotting, envious assistant Lis.
The terrific cast, who each have standout scenes where they shine, is rounded out by Jack Bevans as Grif, Evan Gagliardo as Johnny, Ann Leeney-Grafft as Clare and Krissy Wheeler as Elliot. Be sure to catch references in the show to Playcrafters (“I will never go back to acting in a barn!”) and Circa ’21. The last line of the play is as appropriate and perfect as possible.
The crew of this deliciously satisfying “To Leer At Leer” includes stage manager and assistant director Kori Ralston, executive producer Traci Davis, and costume designer Elizabeth Melville.
Evan Gagliardo, left, Elane Edwards, Krissy Wheeler, and Noel Huntley.
The show will continue at the Black Box on July 12, 17, 18, and 19. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is “Pay What It’s Worth” following the performance, with audience members deciding their own price of admission, and while a portion of sales will go to Black Box, the majority will go directly to the artists on and off stage in this production.
Tickets and details can be found by visiting Barely There Theatre on Facebook (@BarelyThereTheatreQC) and Instagram (@barelytheretheatre).
Mark your calendars for July 30, when Barely There will release an audio play version of the real “King Lear,” on all platforms where podcasts are available. The play will be performed by Mike Schulz, Shelley Cooper, Doug Kutzli, Thayne Lamb, Charles Budan, Emmalee Hilburn, Shyan DeVoss, Keenen Wilson, Alexander Richardson, Jo Vasquez, Micah Bernas and Mark Garden.
For more information, click HERE.
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