Prominent Parts

Playing one of the lead roles in the upcoming Joliet Drama Guild production of “Lion in Winter” is a part Kelly Johnson has hoped for since she was younger. She loved the 1968 movie of the same name, starring Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor and Peter O’Toole as King Henry II.

Earlier in her acting career, the Seneca resident was too young to play Eleanor and not quite ingénue enough to play Henry’s mistress Alice.

But now Johnson is just the right age to play the part of Eleanor, Henry’s formerly imprisoned wife.

“Now that I am the right age, I am perfect for it,” Johnson said. “I knew if I ever got the chance to do it, I would. This was my chance.”

The storyline focuses on King Henry, who needs to choose which one of his three sons will be heir to the throne. Of course, Henry and Eleanor both have different ideas, as do all three sons.

While the movie draws on the historical past, writer James Goldman has taken some liberties and turned it into what becomes a “high stakes game of check and mate for power and love.”

The resulting comedy/drama illuminates the dysfunctional royal family, not unlike some families of today.

“It’s a wonderful script, we have found a lot of funny comments in it,” Johnson said. “The language is very timely and the situation works.”

While Johnson was a theatre major at Illinois State University and has since performed extensively throughout the years — in both acting and singing — this is her first production with Joliet Drama Guild, she said.

“I had never met any of the cast members before. They have been wonderful to work with,” said Johnson.

The chemistry between all the actors is very apparent, she said. When Johnson read with Keith White, who plays King Henry, director Luke Pascale commented that there was instant chemistry.

“Everything that each one of us brings to the characters makes it all work,” said Johnson.

“Kelly (Johnson) is very natural and was a no-brainer for Eleanor,” said Pascale.

Shorewood resident Al Pindell plays middle child Geoffrey — not the first choice for heir of either parent. While Geoffrey is the typical lost child, he is manipulative and conniving in his own right.