Ionesco's absurdist comedy 'Exit the King' balances comic, dramatic elements

By Anne Siegel, TheatreCriticism.com | July 20, 2018

American Players Theatre, located in rural Spring Green, Wisconsin, has added Ionesco’s rarely-performed 1962 absurdist comedy, Exit the King, to its current line-up.

Playing alongside a half-dozen other shows (that focus on Restoration humor and follies, Shakespeare’s timeless themes and a hilarious rendition of Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday), Exit the King may seem like an odd choice for this repertory company’s roster.

But this skillfully wrought production is among the season’s highlights. Ionesco wrote this play as he faced his own fears about mortality. Without making Exit the King overtly political, there’s no denying the similarities between The King (James Ridge) and our current political leaders. When Ridge initially dismisses the idea that he is dying, who cannot think of Trump’s announcement that, should he be found guilty in the current investigation of his ties to Russia, he will conveniently pardon himself?

That’s one of many examples which come to mind when watching this fascinating play directed by Tim Ocel, who in past years has directed a number of APT shows. James Ridge is riveting in the title role. Ridge is a somewhat short, thin man, and is made to look older than his years. At first, his character appears in striped pajamas, a crown and an ermine-trimmed cape, visually suggesting that something in this picture is extremely wrong. Before he arrives, the King’s Doctor (John Pribyl) shares the sad news of the King’s imminent demise with “old” Queen Marguerite (Tracy Michelle Arnold) and the much younger Queen Marie (Cassia Thompson).

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