Review: Christina, The Girl King (Cor Theatre)

Strong female lead counteracts weak choices

Like Marie-Antoinette of France, Christina of Sweden began her rule as a teenager. Unlike Marie-Antoinette, however, Queen Christina didn't revel in lavish parties and banquets. Instead, she amassed a large collection of art and literature, helped found Sweden's first opera house, newspaper and universal public school program, and summoned philosopher Rene Descartes to teach her about free will and reason. Christina also maintained an androgynous identity and a progressive worldview, both of which would eventually come back to haunt her. Cor Theatre's U.S. premiere of Christina, The Girl King , suffers from a bout of miscasting, but compensates with a phenomenal female lead in actress Toya Turner.

At twenty-six, Christina (Turner) is both highly intelligent and physically striking, eschewing traditional palace dress and girlish daintiness. Much to the concern of her guardian Axel (Tony Bozzuto), the Queen has yet to produce an heir or even show interest in a man, despite the professed devotion of her cousin Karl Gustav ( Adam Benjamin). However, when Christina meets the countess Ebba Sparre (Laura Resinger), it's love at first sight - but won't go any further if the dastardly Johan (Will Von Vogt) has anything to do with it.

The story of Queen Christina, unconventional to her dying day, has been immortalized on celluloid in the 1933 film "Queen Christina," starring Greta Garbo and 1974's "The Abdication"starring Liv Ullmann. Translated by Linda Gaboriau, Michel Marc Bouchard's script adapts this fascinating piece of history for a live theater audience, and Tosha Fowler takes the story one step further with some unconventional choices. The most successful is casting Jamaican-American Turner in the lead role. Her Christina is fierce from beginning to end, sharply intellectual and deeply passionate, prone to outbursts of rage, with ideas well ahead of her time. Turner dominates the stage, but shares it just as graciously, particularly with standout castmates Benjamin, Resinger and Bridget Schreiber, as Christina's conniving handmaiden. Thanks to her dynamic performance, Christina is a true Girl-King, fighting with a world that won't accept her just as she is.

The weakest of Fowler's choices is her complete miscasting of Von Vogt as the Queen's nemesis Johan. He's not a bad actor, but so completely wrong for the role that I got distracted from the action whenever he opened his mouth. As Von Vogt is a Cor Theatre company member, his casting had to have been a deliberate selection on Fowler's part, and it was a deeply incorrect one. In the same vein, costume designer Alarie Hammock seems to attempt period costumes with a contemporary twist and isn't quite successful. I wish she would have gone further and made stronger choices, though the gender fluid costuming of Descartes' associate Chanut (the comely Scott Shimizu) is particularly inspired.

Queen Christina's story is a compelling one, and overall Christina, The Girl King is worth the trip to Edgewater. Turner's performance alone makes the production a success, and Gaboriau's translation is equally excellent. If Fowler had gone in a different direction with casting Johan, Christina, The Girl King could have been that much more memorable.

Christina, The Girl King continues through April 9th at Frontier Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale (map), with performances Wednesdays-Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm & 7:30pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $25 (students/industry: $10), and are available by phone (866-811-4111) or online through OvationTix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com ). More information at CorTheatre.org. (Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes, includes an intermission.)

Note: production contains violence, blood & nudity - intended for adult audiences.

Toya Turner (Queen Christina of Sweden), Laura Resinger (Ebba), Adam Gutkin (Karl Gustav), Will Von Vogt (Johan), Tony Bozzuto (Axel), Meg Elliott (Maria Elenora), Danny Taylor (Descartes), Bridget Schreiber (Erika), Scott Shimizu (Chanut), Isabella Karina Coelho, Jay Hobson, Charlee Cotton, Dave Daniels (understudies)

behind the scenes

Tosha Fowler (director, artistic director), Elyse Balogh (set design, props design), Alarie Hammock (costume design), (lighting design), Jeffrey Levine (sound design), Adam Gutkin (technical director), Elyse Cowles (dramaturg), Janelle Bourdreau (stage manager), Stefin Seberl (production manager), Topher Kielbasa (asst. dramaturg), Ki-Jana Moore (asst. stage manager), Maureen Yasko (violence director), Grace Meier (asst. director), Matthew Gregory Hollis (photos)

Tags: 16-0344, Adam Gutkin, Alarie Hammock, Bridget Schreiber, Charlee Cotton, Chicago Theater, Cor Theatre, Danny Taylor, Dave Daniels, Elyse Balogh, Elyse Cowles, Eric Vigo, Frontier Theatre, Grace Meier, Isabella Karina Coelho, Janelle Bourdreau, Jay Hobson, Jeffrey Levine, Ki-Jana Moore, Laura Resinger, Lauren Whalen, Linda Gaboriau, Matthew Gregory Hollis, Maureen Yasko, Meg Elliott, Michel Marc Bouchard, post, Scott Shimizu, Stefin Seberl, Tony Bozzuto, Topher Kielbasa, Tosha Fowler, Toya Turner, Will Von Vogt

Category: 2016 Reviews, Cor Theatre, Frontier Storefront, Lauren Whalen, Video, YouTube