Who knew King Lear inspired so much nudity?

(Introducing) Hello Kitty and I saw King Lear at the Goodman this weekend. First, I haven't seen so many naked parts since.....well, I'm not that kind of girl, so I never see that many naked parts. For those of you who are die hard King Lear fans (and who isn't a fan of tragedies), they kept the language, but spiced up the setting. The modern context they put the original prose to was part gypsy, part Russian Mafia, part hip-hop. Hello Kitty says one of the reviewers said it was supposed to be set in post- Milosovic Serbia. (Here's a shout-out to the former leader now being tried as a war criminal, from his supporters). I can buy that. Unfortunately, whatever ethnic group / setting it was supposed to be, was actually a cause of distraction. I had high hopes that it would enhance the play, but it was inserted unevenly and resulted mainly in blaringly loud, bad music. As for the acting, Stacy Keach as Lear rocked the house. (And ladies, you do get a special derriere shot from the man himself, along with others). We also enjoyed the actors who played Cordelia, Kent, Goneril (no, not Gonorrhea, like we first thought we heard). We had some issues with "the other sister" and thought perhaps she overacted a bit and wasn't a natural-born projector. Hello Kitty really turned out to like Edgar, while I had my eye on Edmund, the bad boy. Overall, the price is right at hottix. Hello Kitty's final word is: thumb slightly elevated above the middle point - or for those of you who crazily don't use that system - 2 1/2 stars. I would say that's about right. We got kick ass seats at half price, and I would do that again. Full price...not over Cordelia's dead body.
Up next: Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theater.