You’ve heard of the man who would be king. Meet the man who shouldn’t be king: Richard II. He’s impetuous, moody, and has a severe case of Peter Pan syndrome. (Though what would you expect from a man who ascended the throne at age 10? He didn’t exactly get any on-the-job training.) And as rendered by the marvelous Michael Urie in the Red Bull Theater’s current messy off-Broadway revival at the Astor Place, he’s every bit the fascinating, flawed figure that Shakespeare intended.
Before the play begins, you might notice a scantily clad figure pacing back and forth inside a clear box. That’s Urie, contemplating Richard’s imprisonment and impending death. (You didn’t think you were in for a happy ending, did you?) And that’s where our play begins: In his adaptation, director Craig Baldwin moves Richard’s soul-searching soliloquy from Act 5, scene 5 to the production’s start. “I have been studying how I may compare/ This prison where I live unto the world…” He talks of his brain and his soul; “thoughts of things divine” and “thoughts tending to ambition”; being “kinged” and later “unkinged.” This is Richard at his most philosophical—his most Hamlet-like, in fact. Opening with this beautifully metaphoric monologue shows his vulnerability and emotional depth.
Because Richard II is an otherwise shallow fellow. He wears the latest, most fabulous fashions—costume designer Rodrigo Muñoz has given Urie sleek, tailored jackets, voluminous robes, stunning sashes, and an amazing crown—but everyday matters of court seem to bore him. When the pompous Bolingbroke (Grantham Coleman, looking very Gordon Gekko) and the mafioso-like Mowbray (Daniel Stewart Sherman) accuse each other of a litany of bad behavior, including high treason, and eventually come to blows—or, in this case, a high-stakes game of Russian roulette—Richard looks mildly amused, and eventually just bored. We get the impression that he decides to end the duel and banish them both just so he can get on with his day. He’s got partying to do.
[Read Bob Verini’s ★★☆☆☆ review here.]
Preceded by a boxing match–style intro by Bushy (Sarin Monae West, giving Grace Jones), one of Richard’s advisers, the battle between Bolingbroke and Mowbray surely would have been more exciting on a larger stage. It’s almost impossible to do anything in front of that giant box—though it does serve many purposes. It’s not only a prison; it’s also a nightclub as well as a sauna where Richard, his queen (Lux Pascal), Bushy, and the handsome male members of his court go to relax and make out. In this production, Richard is bisexual, which works; of course he’s more interested in pleasure than politics.
Not surprisingly, the king’s lack of political savvy proves his undoing. He thinks he can simply swoop in and make a cash grab after his uncle, John of Gaunt (Ron Canada), dies. He needs to fund a war, and after Gaunt majorly insults him—“landlord of England art thou now, not king”—he thinks nothing of snapping up the old man’s estate. But that’s Bolingbroke’s inheritance, and you can bet he’ll be back from banishment to claim what’s rightfully his.
Once Richard realizes the inevitable—he’ll have to surrender that super-sparkly crown—he becomes peaceful, almost reflective. “Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs,” he tells a few remaining friends (the other two-faced followers have already fled to Bolingbroke’s side). “For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground/ And tell sad stories of the death of kings.” The closer Richard gets to death, the more lyrical his speech becomes.
Kudos to Baldwin for turning the Duke of York into the Duchess of York and casting Shakespeare vet Kathryn Meisle (her costume in Gaunt’s deathbed scene is a Jackie O–esque black suit with a cropped jacket and pearl-trimmed collar and cuffs; similarly, Northumberland is played by Emily Swallow, looking ultra-chic in Muñoz’s Dynasty-era power suits and pumps (bring on the shoulder pads!). Both women, incidentally, make delightful villains.
Traitors abound in Richard II, and in this production, it’s not always clear who’s on whose side. Unfortunately, double-casting only makes matters more confusing. Though I’m not sure more actors could even fit on the Astor Place stage. The only time this production really breathes is when Urie is alone in that giant glass box.
Richard II opened Nov. 10, 2025, at the Astor Place Theatre and runs through Dec. 14. Tickets and information: redbulltheater.com
