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Greg Mallios, Clay Winstead, Tracy M. Schoster, Jared Earland, Allen R. Middleton, Lexi Rigsby & Dan Robertson. Photo by Claudia Hershner.

St. Paddy’s Day might have been last week, but you can still celebrate the Luck o’ the Irish (well…English, actually) by having a wee bit more than a pint this Friday with the cast and crew of Falcon’s Theatre’s production of The Lion in Winter!

Immediately following this week’s opening performance, patrons are invited to Wooden Cask Brewing Company, 629 York Street in Newport, to enjoy a beverage and to mingle with the production’s actors and crew and with fellow theatergoers. Wooden Cask is approximately a two-minute walk from Falcon’s stage door.

The Lion in Winter is playwright James Goldman’s deliciously wicked accounting of the love-hate travails between England’s King Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the accompanying power struggle to name the next heir to the English throne. Comedic in tone, darkly dramatic in action, and filled to overflowing with Goldman’s razor-sharp wit and dialogue, the play has been an audience favorite for more than fifty years.

Although the events depicted in the play took place in the Middle Ages, Falcon director Tara Williams has moved the story to 2019 to present the universal and timeless themes of marital jealousy, sibling rivalry, and the struggle for political power and control..

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch calls Lion “satisfying, well-seasoned, and wonderfully witty…perfect fare for a cold winter’s night.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says “if you like your humor with a dose of malice, there’s plenty of bite to (this play’s) bark.”

The Falcon production features Allen R. Middleton as Henry, Tracy M. Schoster as Eleanor, Greg Mallios as Richard, Jared Earland as Geoffrey, Clay Winstead as John, Lexi Rigsby as Alais, and Dan Robertson as Philip.

Performances are at 8 PM on March 22, 23, 28, 29, and 30, and on April 4, 5, and 6, 2019. Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $15 for students with ID. Patrons enjoy a $5 discount for Thursday performances. Visit falcontheater.net for tickets.