Johnny Stallings presents “One Man Lear”

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

7:00pm Albany Quadrangle - Smith Hall

Johnny Stallings’ one-man performance of King Lear is a no-frills version that will amaze and fascinate. Without trivial things like sets, props, costumes, and other actors cluttering up the stage, you’ll find your brain forced to concentrate on nothing but the words themselves, which–according to Johnny–is not such a bad thing: “It’s arguably the best poetry in any language,” he says reverently. Johnny’s disheveled quirkiness is charming, but don’t let it deceive you. It takes great skill to make Shakespeare this approachable, and above all else, his grasp of the language is impeccable. Stallings glosses over sections of King Lear with summary asides, and handles the dialogue scenes by simply moving to different parts of the room, distinguishing the different characters with only the smallest variations in posture and tone. The result should be clumsy and awkward, but the precision of his line readings, combined with his quirky sense of humor, makes it fluid.

Last year his performance was standing room only. Don’t be left in the wings this year.

Refreshments will be served.