Last night after a heavy bit of Irish cuisine, I headed over to Lincoln Center for a night of "Cymbeline." This is the first performance I've seen in this theater and it's a gorgeous layout. The Vivian Beaumont theater...awesome sightlines. Decent acoustics. Not so cute ushers.

I call this play the absent Grimm fairy tale because it's a mesh of all things "fairy tale." King Cymbeline's daughter, Princess Imogen, is inprisoned by her "evil stepmother" who married Cymbeline only to unite her son Cloten with the princess hoping one day for him to become King Cloten. Whilst she's secretly married to Posthumus, a poor gentlemen whom Cymbeline cared for while Posthumus and Imogen grew up. Cymbeline banishes Posthumus from the kingdom when he discovers their secret affair. Imogen is then "tested" by Iachimo, an Italian wanker, who makes a bet with Posthumus that she is not honest and faithful. Iachimo "wins" the bet and Posthumus banishes Imogen from his heart. Imogen travels to Wales where she believes Posthumus to be and along her travels meets three outcasts who take her under their wing. Cloten follows her there only to be be-headed by one of the outcasts. Lively apparitions greet Posthumus in a dream. The underlying story in addition is Caius Lucius and his Roman army are at war with Cymbeline's army. The Romans and British all meet up in Wales where England becomes victorious and where all of the characters at some point or another have fought. Iachimo (who caused the big mess to begin with) comes clean and re-unites Imogen with Posthumus. At this point Imogen re-unites with her father, her lover and she discovers the two outcasts that took her in are her brothers. The older outcast kidnapped them when he was banished from Cymbeline's court years ago. I hope I explained this alright. My brain is kind of mushing things together.

Anyway, the production overall was great fun. Michael Cerveris, Posthumus, and Martha Plimpton, Imogen, were ...amazing! Phylicia Rashad, the evil queen, was a great queen but very cartoony. She played a great evil queen but was very one note. I would have LOVED to see her as sweet and innocent and loving with everyone in the beginning except ofcourse the audience and we gradually see her colors.

Enjoy the show if you have a chance to see it!