Tom Hanks, Hamish Linklater and a 'Henry IV' worthy of applause
LOS ANGELES - Tackling both parts of Shakespeare's "Henry IV" in an outdoor staging with a company of actors not primarily known as Elizabethan specialists is a recipe for a long and bumpy night. So it's a credit to the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles for not only averting disaster but getting so much right.
The production, which opened Friday at the Japanese Garden on the West Los Angeles VA campus, stars Oscar winner Tom Hanks as Falstaff and stylish Shakespearean player Hamish Linklater as Prince Hal. But much of its success can be attributed to the smooth direction of Daniel Sullivan, who knows his way around the Bard's comedies, tragedies, histories and romances.
