‘Richard’ lead actor rules the stage

There is no creature loves me, and if I die, no soul shall pity me," mourns the lame king with the hump and the withered arm. But it's his withered soul and crippled conscience that make people hate the manipulative King Richard III.

Henley Street Theatre Company opens its second season with Shakespeare's history play about the 15th-century monarch, and director James Ricks has chosen a modern setting with an emphasis on politics. Shakespeare's Richard is bitter and twisted, plotting his ascension to the throne of England by whatever means. He is willing to lie and cheat and dissemble, so Ricks inserts videos that mimic political commercials and Sunday-morning news programs that highlight Richard's management of how he is perceived.

Scott Wichmann's turn in the title role is a stunner; the actor's charismatic power mirrors that of the character, and we enjoy being taken in by him. It's fun to see the contrast between Richard's public persona and the unvarnished comments he makes to the audience. Wichmann's glittering, cold eyes reveal the monster that Richard is, the murderer who baldly propositions his victim's widow, the fiend who has his own young nephews killed. Wichmann has the crisp diction and the vast range of emotion needed to make the character endlessly fascinating.

But scenes without him are often less satisfying, though Rebecca Anne Muhleman's Anne and Melissa Johnston-Price's Elizabeth have powerful scenes of their own. And Margarette Joyner's Queen Margaret really seems like someone whose curses would work, while Adam Mincks distinguishes himself as Richard's henchman Buckingham, well-matched to Wichmann as a partner in evil.

The much-ballyhooed videos are clever but distracting, loaded as they are with cameos by Richmond theater folk. It might have been more effective if Ricks had put some of that energy into the set, which is flat and shallow, though nicely lit by Andrew Bonniwell. Many of the violent scenes are done as shadow projections behind screens. Shannon Bohn McCallister provides contemporary costumes that work well, except for Elizabeth's unattractive dress.

With "Richard III," Henley Street continues to challenge itself with work that demands much of the company and the audience alike.
Susan Haubenstock is a freelance writer and editor based in Henrico County. Contact her at .