Queens of New York
IT'S taken almost four years for Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I to revive their theatrical duel in New York but now they're ruling Broadway.
Phyllida Lloyd's revival of Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart originated at the Donmar Warehouse in 2005 before transferring to the West End.
The Donmar production, now at Manhattan's Broadhurst Theatre, received a rapturous response for its British leading ladies Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter.
The opening night was crowned by a regal turnout including Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney, Jeremy Irons, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson, a month after the death of his wife Natasha Richardson in a skiing accident.
McTeer (Mary Stuart) and Walter (Elizabeth I) both crossed the Atlantic to reprise the roles they played in Mary Stuart's London incarnation.
The play, adapted by Peter Oswald from Schiller's 1800 work, depicts the rivalry between the queens and their respective religions - Elizabeth re-established the Protestant Church in England while her imprisoned cousin Mary Stuart was a devout Catholic.
However New York critics were not divided on the merits of the production. The New York Times's Ben Brantley wrote: "Both the queens it portrays are born to rule. So, I might add, are the actresses who play them."
He added: "Mary Stuart has a fierce timelessness in its depiction of political power games Note to Michelle and Barack Obama: See this immediately."
Showbusiness publication Variety said: "This is no stodgy history lesson but a juicy regal smackdown rendered in direct, muscular language."
The Associated Press said: "The fireworks are more than royal. Call them electrifying, lifting this version of Mary Stuart into the realm of high-powered, classic drama."
Walter, 58, won best actress at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Mary Stuart in 2005 but has not been on Broadway since 1983. McTeer, 47, picked up a Tony award the last time she acted in New York in Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1997. Both actresses are keeping blogs during Mary Stuart's four-month Broadway run in which they remain in character. McTeer writes: "I have discovered protein shakes and they are helping me." Walter notes: "I was a little horrified that there was so little fanfare as I descended the steps of the Virgin Airline flying machine (which I had presumed was specially named for me)."
