Henri Lubatti [Photo by Daniel Reichert]
Eugène Ionesco understood this with the clarity of a man who found the whole enterprise both hilarious and unbearable. His play “Exit the King” is, on its surface, a farce about a monarch who cannot accept that he is dying. Beneath the pratfalls and the absurdist arithmetic of a realm shrinking by the minute, it is something rarer: a work of theater that stares directly into oblivion and somehow comes away laughing.
A Noise Within, the Pasadena company that has built its reputation as a reliable steward of the classical repertoire — the Los Angeles Times has called it “an oasis for those who love classic stories” — will stage the play May 9 through May 31 at its 324-seat performance space, with previews beginning May 3. Michael Michetti directs, working from Donald Watson’s translation.
“It starts as a hysterical, rollicking tale of human folly,” Michetti said, “then gradually transforms into something deeply beautiful and moving.” He is drawn, he added, to the play’s “cheeky, quirky dark humor” and its tonal sleight of hand — the way what appears to be one thing at the outset reveals itself as something else entirely by the final curtain.
Henri Lubatti plays King Berenger, the sovereign who has wielded absolute power and sees no reason why the laws of biology should prove any less negotiable than the laws of his court. Joy DeMichelle and Erika Soto play his two wives — the first formidable, the second devoted — and the ensemble includes Lynn Robert Berg, Ralph Cole Jr. and KT Vogt as the attendants watching the monarchy dissolve around them.
Ionesco (1909–1994) was born in Romania and became one of the leading figures of the Theater of the Absurd. His early works — “The Bald Soprano,” “The Lesson” — were provocations, anti-plays that dismantled the conventions of dramatic storytelling with surreal humor, illogical dialogue and bizarre situations. “Rhinoceros,” his most famous work, turned conformity and totalitarianism into a species of horror.
But “Exit the King” has always occupied a warmer corner of his catalog. Often described as a “pessoptimist” for his blend of comic irony and existential dread, Ionesco created a play that is an allegory, certainly, and a comedy, but also — and this is the trick — genuinely moving. Among his works, it is the one most likely to leave an audience not just unsettled but quietly, unexpectedly consoled.
The creative team includes scenic designer Tesshi Nakagawa, costume designer Angela Balogh Calin, lighting designer Jared A. Sayeg, sound designer Jeff Gardner, wig and makeup designer Tony Valdés, properties designer Stephen Taylor and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad, with Matt Walker serving as clowning consultant — a credit that feels entirely appropriate for a play in which the grandest of human delusions is played for both pathos and slapstick. Marco Rivera is the assistant director. Hope Matthews is the production stage manager, assisted by Morgan McDonald.
Performances take place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no matinee on Saturday, May 9). Four preview performances are scheduled: Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m., and Wednesday, May 6; Thursday, May 7; and Friday, May 8, each at 7:30 p.m.
A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group takes place before the matinee on Sunday, May 10, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Post-performance conversations with the artists are held every Friday (except the preview) and on Sunday, May 17. Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m.; interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.
Tickets start at $41.75 (including fees). Student tickets start at $20. Two preview performances, on Wednesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 7, are pay-what-you-choose starting at $10, available online beginning at noon the Monday prior and at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. For more call (626) 356-3100 or visit anoisewithin.org. Tickets: Starting at $41.75 (including fees); student tickets from $20; pay-what-you-choose previews from $10.
