Kate Mulgrew and John Douglas Thompson photo by T. Charles Erickson

Antony and Cleopatra, Harford Stage, Hartford, CT  10/7/10-11/7/10

http://www.hartfordstage.org/shows/antony-cleopatra

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

From the start of the Antony and Cleopatra, Kate’s performance is filled with passion and abandon.  Running in bare-footed with a sword, anyone who has seen many of Ms. Mulgrew’s performances realizes this is not the calm, controlled persona of Kathryn Janeway, Elizabeth Seton, or Janet Eldridge.  Cleopatra is a woman who is one of the most powerful rulers in the world and yet is controlled by her lustful appetite for a man who can never be completely hers:  Antony.  Her strength and vulnerability are played out in her faithfulness to Antony and her jealousy of Antony’s wives.  Her performance evokes lust, humor, rage, sensuality, and pathos that compel you to be drawn into her plight.  The energy that she puts into her performance meets and sometimes exceeds some of the soldiers and dancers and does not stop until the snake kills her.  With the wildness of her character combined with a beautiful long flowing wig and voluptuous costumes, she appears more youthful and free than some of her roles from twenty years ago (if only we all could “youth-en” in that way!).   I hope we continue to get to see her versatility as the years go on.  As for the actress herself, Ms. Mulgrew was extremely gracious after running around for three hours to take the time to sign my program and allow me to thank her for her magnificent performance as well as her previous work. Continue reading →