{"id":149034,"date":"2019-04-26T08:01:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T12:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=149034"},"modified":"2019-04-26T11:05:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T15:05:24","slug":"woman-can-king-crts-production-henry-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2019\/04\/woman-can-king-crts-production-henry-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"‘When a Woman Can Be King’: CRT’s Production of Henry IV"},"content":{"rendered":"

The plays of William Shakespeare are generally classified in three genres \u2013 Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories. The Histories focus on English kings, and the Bard took full advantage of his creative license in telling their stories.<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Repertory Theatre is following the playwright\u2019s lead in its production of \u201cHenry IV\u201d by combining two plays into one and casting two women in the lead roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things Shakespeare does in his plays that are not historically accurate that he does very intentionally to create a more dynamic story,\u201d says Madeline Sayet, who directs the Connecticut Repertory Theatre\u2019s adaptation of Henry IV, the epic coming-of-age story of privilege, politics, and power that will be performed from April 25 through May 5 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre.<\/p>\n

\"Sebastian<\/a>
Sebastian Nagpal (Hal), left, and Michele Tauber (Falstaff) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress1<\/div>
Sebastian Nagpal (Hal), left, and Michele Tauber (Falstaff) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div>\"Michele<\/a>
Michele Tauber (Falstaff) leads a riotous crew of misfits populating the tavern in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress2<\/div>
Michele Tauber (Falstaff) leads a riotous crew of misfits populating the tavern in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div>\"Michele<\/a>
Michele Tauber (Falstaff) leads a riotous crew of misfits populating the tavern in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress6<\/div>
Michele Tauber (Falstaff) leads a riotous crew of misfits populating the tavern in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div>\"The<\/a>
The challengers to Henry IV\u2019s throne include, from left, Tristan Rewald (Sir Richard Vernon), Nick Greika (Douglas), Erin Cessna(Hotspur), Harry Wendorff (Mortimer), Worcester (Bryan Mittelstadt) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress4<\/div>
The challengers to Henry IV\u2019s throne include, from left, Tristan Rewald (Sir Richard Vernon), Nick Greika (Douglas), Erin Cessna(Hotspur), Harry Wendorff (Mortimer), Worcester (Bryan Mittelstadt) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div>\"Aaliyah<\/a>
Aaliyah Habeeb (King Henry) and Sebastian Nagpal (Hal) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress5<\/div>
Aaliyah Habeeb (King Henry) and Sebastian Nagpal (Hal) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div>\"Aaliyah<\/a>
Aaliyah Habeeb (King Henry) and Sebastian Nagpal (Hal) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div>
HenryPress3<\/div>
Aaliyah Habeeb (King Henry) and Sebastian Nagpal (Hal) in Shakesepeare\u2019s Henry IV onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre through May 5. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

An early challenge for Sayet was to combine into one production Parts 1 & 2 of Henry IV, which follow the story of King Henry IV\u2019s struggles to manage the strained relationship with his son, Prince Harry, while fighting off a rebellion against his rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeciding how you\u2019re going to do that in a way that is remotely cohesive is difficult,\u201d says Sayet. \u201cIt\u2019s not designed to be one play. The parts we take from Henry IV 2 are building on what had already been established in Part 1. Pretty early on, I decided we weren\u2019t going to introduce other characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayet is one of the nation\u2019s rising stage directors. Her credentials include an MA with Distinction from the Shakespeare Institute<\/a> at Stratford-upon-Avon in the U.K. She has directed Shakespeare plays and other productions throughout the United States and overseas. At CRT, she previously directed \u201cShe Kills Monsters\u201d in March 2018.<\/p>\n

The director says that after finalizing the script, she had three questions she felt were at the center of the play: What is honor? Why do we go to war? What do we inherit from the generation before us?<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought those questions were particularly interesting, not only because they were present in the play but I thought they were intergenerational questions within the play and also interesting questions in an environment where there were students,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n

Over the last five to 10 years, there\u2019s been a 50-50 shift toward gender parity in Shakespeare. … It creates a different environment when a woman can be a king. — Madeline Sayet<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In addition to combining Shakespearian plays into one production, another highlight of the CRT production is the casting of Equity actors Aaliyah Habeeb as Henry IV and Michele Tauber as Falstaff with MFA actor Sebastian Nagpal as Prince Harry (Hal).<\/p>\n

\u201cCasting women as leads in Shakespeare is no longer an issue in the American theater,\u201d Sayet says. \u201cOver the last five to 10 years, there\u2019s been a 50-50 shift toward gender parity in Shakespeare. The characters are larger than life. Women have the same Shakespeare training as men. It creates a different environment when a woman can be a king. If the woman can only be the side lover who should be murdered because someone doesn\u2019t think she is chaste, the dynamics aren\u2019t the same. Right now Glenda Jackson is on Broadway in the title role of \u2018King Lear.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Last year, Habeeb was awarded the Nataasha van Kampen Grant to shadow at Shakespeare\u2019s Globe in London for the production of \u201cOthello.\u201d Her recent New York credits include Lucrece in \u201cThe Rape of Lucrece\u201d at the New York Shakespeare Exchange; \u201cThe Fabulous Miss Marie\u201d (New Federal Theatre); and \u201cLove Ya Like A Sis\u201d (Venus\/Adonis Festival).<\/p>\n

Tauber\u2019s credits in New York theater include, \u201cThe Charity That Began at Home\u201d (Mint Theatre Co.), and multiple shows with The Acting Company, including \u201cThe Rivals\u201d (Mrs. Malaprop), \u201cMacbeth,\u201d and \u201cO, Pioneers.\u201d Her television credits include \u201cOrange is the New Black,\u201d \u201cBull,\u201d \u201cBoardwalk Empire,\u201d \u201cLaw & Order,\u201d \u201cKate & Allie,\u201d and \u201cThe Street.\u201d She will also be featured in four episodes on the new season of \u201cSearch Party\u201d on TBS.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s been really exciting about Aaliyah and Michele is that not only are they incredibly talented Shakespearian actors, but they are also great leaders in the rehearsal room in terms of the way they model hard work and humility and dedication to the craft,\u201d Sayet says. \u201cThey don\u2019t take anything for granted. You can see them doing the work constantly in rehearsal, which is a great thing in a show where there are a lot of students. It shows [the students] that you don\u2019t get to a certain point and stop putting in the work; that you get to that point because you keep putting in the work and doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The creative team includes: Madeline Sayet (director), Kristen P.E. Zarabozo (scenic design), Samuel Biondolillo (lighting design), Jessica Haswell (costume design), Katie Salerno (sound design), Julius Cruz (dramaturg), and Tom Kosis (production stage manager).<\/p>\n

The cast includes: Sebastian Nagpal (Hal), Erin Cessna (Hotspur), Aaron Bantum (John of Lancaster), Kaileen Wolfe (Westmoreland\/Lady Northumberland), Sierra Kane (Warwick), Nikolai Fernandez (Sir Walter Blunt), Alex Campbell (Chief Justice), Anthony Giovino (Officer), Rebekah Santiago (Lady Percy), Angela Hunt (Northumberland\/Mistress Quickly), Bryan Mittelstadt (Worcester), Harry Wendorff (Mortimer), Carly Polistina (Lady Mortimer\/The Welsh Lady), Rob Barnes (Glendower), Nick Greika (Douglas), Tristan Rewald (Sir Richard Vernon), Mauricio Miranda (Poins), Betty Smith (Bardolph), Elias Beck (Pistol), Kevin Biciunas (Peto), Ethan Caso (Messenger\/Servant).<\/p>\n

For tickets and information visit crt.uconn.edu<\/a> or call 860-486-2113.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aaliyah Habeeb plays King Henry and Michele Tauber Falstaff in Shakespeare’s epic coming-of-age story of privilege, politics, and power, at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre April 25-May 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":149229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1711,1914,2225,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1918],"class_list":["post-149034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-sfa","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 04:41:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149034"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149274,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149034\/revisions\/149274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/149229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149034"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=149034"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=149034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}