Alameda's community theater is ending its year with a Christmas fight over a kingdom. Altarena Playhouse is staging James Goldman's The Lion in Winter, the last show of its 2026 season, through Nov. 22.
The play is set at Christmas 1183. King Henry II lets his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, out of prison for the holiday, and the family schemes over which of three sons will inherit the throne. The 1968 film won three Oscars, including Best Actress for Katharine Hepburn. The Alameda Post's reviewer compared it to a medieval Succession: a wealthy family with an aging patriarch, and children battling over who gets "the Big Sword."
The production
Angela Mason directs. Daron Jennings plays Henry II, Katina Psihos plays Eleanor, and Dominic Antonich, Julian Dion and Colin Epstein play the sons John, Geoffrey and Richard, with Sydney Harmon as Alais. The Post praised Tom Curtin's stone-walled castle set, Tammy Berlin's costumes and James Goode's Gregorian-chant sound design.
If you go
- Where: Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda
- When: Through Nov. 22; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (a new, earlier start), Sundays at 2 p.m.
- Running time: About 2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
- Access: The theater lists audio description by Gravity Access for the run
Check the theater's site for tickets and any date changes.