To the surprise of exactly no one, Helen Mirren is absolutely terrific as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Audience,” which opened on Broadway Sunday night.
Admittedly, Mirren had practice, having played her in the 2006 movie “The Queen.” But the challenge is much greater in “The Audience” — written, like that flick, by Peter Morgan — because Elizabeth here interacts with several decades’ worth of British prime ministers. And so Mirren often changes from one year of Elizabeth’s life to another and back again in full view of the audience, switching wigs and dresses with the help of dressers.
In the opening scene, Elizabeth is 69 and amiably putting an insecure John Major (Dylan Baker) at ease. How she next becomes the 25-year-old monarch-in-waiting facing an imperious Winston Churchill (Dakin Matthews) is the kind of theatrical magic trick you won’t soon forget.
The physical transformation itself is a lot of fun — how can you not see something that happens right in front of your eyes?!
But it pales compared with the way Mirren switches roles from an established, aging ruler to a young woman — not yet crowned — who holds her own against a colossal statesman swinging his weight around. The voice is more girlish, the body language less confident, but the will and character are already there.
From time to time, a pair of live corgis appear, a good representation of the play’s approach: cutesy, well-trained, with an undertone of “Wow, just how great is this Royal?!”
“The Queen” focused on the aftermath of Diana’s death, and the irritation and slight temper that appeared there are gone. This cuddly take on royalty should please theatergoers who find “Downton Abbey” too edgy.
Inspired by the queen’s real-life weekly meetings with the prime minister of the moment, the show unfurls as a series of one-on-one conversations — a program insert helpfully puts the PMs in historical context for those who can’t tell their Anthony Eden from their Harold Wilson.
The latter (the jolly Richard McCabe) is a 1970s Labour reformer who, against all odds, gets along like gangbusters with Elizabeth — they interact like a comedy duo.
Things are a lot tenser with Margaret Thatcher (Judith Ivey), who turns up in a tizzy, thinking that the supposedly neutral queen is taking political positions.
Bob Crowley’s imposing set successively takes us to Buckingham Palace and a cozier — relatively speaking — vacation retreat, Balmoral Castle. Against this formal grandeur, Morgan and director Stephen Daldry arrange intimate personal interactions that humanize the monarch.
Still, it’s always obvious who the real ruler is when it comes to Broadway. Mirren’s crown is safe.