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GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Britain’s current royal family might appear to be full of drama, but their issues seem trivial compared to those of the family of King Henry II of England.
Grosse Pointe Theatre’s new production of “The Lion in Winter,” set in 1183, looks at the fractured family dynamics among the king, his strong and conniving wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their three sons, all of whom want to inherit their father’s crown and everything that comes with it. The show will run Feb. 7 to 16 at Parcells Middle School in Grosse Pointe Woods.
“It’s a highly dysfunctional family,” said Samantha Teter, of Detroit, who plays Eleanor. “Everyone has their own agenda. They’re all out to get each other.”
Henry wants his favorite son, John, the youngest, to become the next king, while Eleanor wants her favorite, Richard, the oldest surviving son, to ascend to the throne. Then there’s middle son Geoffrey, a charming schemer.
Teter, who only moved to Detroit about a year and a half ago, said she was eager to become involved in the local theater scene when she learned about the “Lion” auditions. She said Eleanor is “probably my favorite role to date.”
“She’s incredibly complex,” Teter said. “She’s formidable but also vulnerable. The more I read the script (and) the more I read about her, the more I was intrigued. She has a lot of layers I feel I can bring to the character.”
Patrick Lane, of Bloomfield Hills, who plays Henry, is also making his GPT debut with this show, although he said his wife has been in previous GPT productions. He said he’s “always been drawn to this time period.”
“This show is one I’ve wanted to do since high school,” Lane said. “It’s like a precursor to (the HBO show) ‘Game of Thrones.’ There’s a real humanity in these historical figures.”
Director Nick Marinello, of Mount Clemens, agreed.
“Doing this drama, you have to get to the real people,” Marinello said.
Marinello said Henry II is “a warrior … (who) is in the winter of his life.” He’ll be dead within nine years.
Marinello, a history teacher by day, gets to embrace his interest in that subject with a chance to helm a drama after previously directing comedies.
“I think what I love about this show is it’s such a great actors’ show,” Marinello said of the meaty, complicated characters. “It’s important for us as an organization to provide these shows for actors to hone their craft and to play a great character.”
Sterling Orlowski, of Hamtramck, plays Geoffrey. This is his third GPT show this season.
“I’d seen the movie many years ago,” Orlowski said. “I’m a fan of Peter O’Toole.”
O’Toole played Henry in the 1968 film.
Other actors in the cast include Catherine Pearson as Alais, Henry’s mistress and Richard’s fiancée; Gavin DeFillippo as John; Christopher Peterson as Richard; and Colin Martin as Philip II of France, the son and heir of Louis VII.
Despite the historical setting and somewhat elevated language, the dialogue in “Lion” is fairly modern.
“You close your eyes and (the characters) could be in a boardroom,” Marinello said. “It’s (like the television show) ‘Succession.’”
The lavish costumes, however, are as true to the period as possible. While there isn’t a lot of information about how people from that era dressed, costume designer Mary Magyari, of Mount Clemens, has worked to replicate what they most likely would have looked like, using materials from the time such as wool.
“What I did was reference a lot of artwork from that period for inspiration,” Magyari said.
She said they hope to create a display in the lobby that will include reproductions of some of the artworks she studied to make the costumes, using paintings of Eleanor and Henry.
“You’ll see really rich colors and tones for each character,” Magyari said. “It’s going to be eye candy for the audience, I hope.”
The set is likewise true to the real setting, Chinon castle, which Marinello said was made of limestone and decorated with tapestries.
“We wanted to be as accurate as possible,” Marinello said of the set, which is being crafted of foam painted to reflect the color of the stone.
This marks the third time GPT has staged “The Lion in Winter.” Previous productions were in 2005 and 1968. The play itself was written in 1966 by James Goldman.
“It’s a drama, (but) there’s a lot of wit to it,” Marinello said. “There’s a lot of levity. And (it’s) very sharp, very clever. When you read the script, it’s very dense, very quotable.”
It’s also a story that remains relevant.
“This is, in many ways, a timeless story of family struggle,” Marinello said. “Even though it’s set in a castle and there’s a king and a queen, there’s a lot of things (a modern audience) will find relatable.”
Parcells is located at 20600 Mack Ave. (at Vernier Road). For tickets or more information, visit gpt.org or call the GPT box office at (313) 881-4004.
