Exit the King

Ionesco's absurdist classic, about a 300-year-old monarch unable to accept his own death, is tricked up with too much comedy shtick in the first half and becomes a little unrelenting in the second. But Geoffrey Rush's intense, way-over-the-top performance (a likely Tony winner) helps make the existential battle royal sizzle.

See pictures of classic plays and musicals at LIFE.com.

• 
• Click to Print

• Find this article at:
• https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902985_1902984_1902978,00.html