Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins us with another of her weekly reviews of the Maryland stage. Today, she spotlights the world premiere production by Rep Stage of E2, playwright Bob Bartlett's contemporary re-telling of Christopher Marlowe's 1593 drama, Edward II. In Marlowe's play, the infamous English monarch's homosexual relationship with his "favourite," Gaveston, scandalizes his queen, sparks bloody discord within his court and eventually brings his reign to a tragic end. In Bartlett's play, King Edward's drama becomes a modern-day tale of rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment around the world; Marlowe's sprawling court is pared to just five characters forced to wrestle with the personal costs of political power.
Directed at Rep Stage by Joseph W. Ritsch, Bartlett's play features Zachary L. Powell as Edward II, Alejandro Ruiz as Gaveston, Dane Figueroa Edidi as Queen Isabella, Robbie Gay as Mortimer, and Zach Rakotomaniraka as Edward III.
E2 continues at Rep Stage (at Howard Community College) through Sunday, November 17. For ticket information, click here.
Because of special NPR programming, this week's theater review could not be broadcast live.
