Dates: January 18–March 6, 2005
Role: Piero Strozzi
Theater: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.
Venue: Lansburgh Theatre
Playwright: Alfred de Musset
Translation & Adaptation: John Strand
Director: Michael Kahn

Plot

Written by French playwright Alfred de Musset in 1834, Lorenzaccio is a sprawling political drama set in 16th-century Florence during the rule of Alessandro de Medici.

At its center is Lorenzo de Medici, cousin and companion to the corrupt Duke Alessandro. Lorenzo has deliberately immersed himself in the Duke’s decadent world, sacrificing his own reputation and morality while secretly planning to assassinate Alessandro and help free Florence from his tyrannical rule.

The play explores political idealism, corruption, revenge and the uncomfortable question of whether removing one powerful man can really change a society whose problems run much deeper.

Pedro as Piero Strozzi

Pedro played Piero Strozzi, a member of the prominent Strozzi family and son of Philip Strozzi, played by Ted van Griethuysen.

Colleen Delany played Piero’s sister, Louisa Strozzi.

Within the play, the Strozzi family stands in contrast to the corruption surrounding the Medici court. They represent an honorable Florentine family opposed to Alessandro’s rule, but their political convictions and personal loyalties increasingly pull them into the turmoil engulfing Florence.

Unlike Ghosts two years earlier, where he appeared under the name Alexander Pascal, Pedro was credited in Lorenzaccio as Pedro Pascal.

Production Notes

Shakespeare Theatre Company presented Lorenzaccio from January 18 through March 6, 2005 as part of its 2004–2005 season.

Michael Kahn directed a newly translated and adapted version of Alfred de Musset’s French classic by Washington playwright John Strand.

The production was notable for being the first professional production of Lorenzaccio in Washington, D.C., as well as the world premiere of Strand’s translation and adaptation.

It was also presented as part of Paris on the Potomac, a citywide celebration of the cultural relationship between Washington and Paris.

For a play rarely staged in the United States, the production was large in scale. Contemporary coverage described a running time of approximately two hours and 45 minutes and a sizable ensemble portraying the competing families, political factions and citizens of Renaissance Florence.

Cast

  • Jeffrey Carlson — Lorenzo de Medici

  • Robert Cuccioli — Alessandro de Medici

  • Ted van Griethuysen — Philip Strozzi

  • Pedro Pascal — Piero Strozzi

  • Colleen Delany — Louisa Strozzi

  • Marni Penning — Catharine de Medici

  • Tana Hicken — Marie de Medici

  • Michael Rudko — Cardinal Cibo

  • Chandler Vinton — Countess Cibo

  • Aubrey Deeker — Tebaldeo

  • Floyd King — Valori

  • Ralph Cosham — Count Cibo / Ruccelli

Creative Team

  • Michael Kahn — Director

  • Ming Cho Lee — Set Designer

  • Murell Horton — Costume Designer

  • Howell Binkley — Lighting Designer

  • Scott Killian — Composer / Sound Designer

  • Brad Waller — Fight Choreographer

  • Ralph Zito — Vocal and Text Consultant

  • David Muse — Resident Assistant Director

  • William Shiner — Stage Manager

  • Dana DePaul — Assistant Stage Manager

Lorenzaccio

Production Photos

Review

Peter Marks — The Washington Post, January 2005

Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks praised Michael Kahn’s production and highlighted the supporting characters who helped create the political and moral world surrounding Lorenzo.Marks specifically mentioned Pedro as part of the Strozzi family, describing them as:“The upstanding Strozzis…”He wrote that Ted van Griethuysen, Colleen Delany and Pedro Pascal created “a portrait of wholesome values under less than ideal political conditions.”Although the review does not evaluate Pedro’s performance separately, it places Piero and the Strozzi family firmly on the moral side of the production’s political conflict and positively describes the family ensemble.Read the original review:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/01/25/lorenzaccio-murder-most-medici/d51ebaea-3cb4-411e-83ba-e2e9fa20b0a8/

Rich See — CurtainUp, 2005

Rich See’s review for CurtainUp also singled out the Strozzi family.Discussing Ted van Griethuysen, Pedro Pascal and Colleen Delany together, See wrote that the actors brought:“an interesting blend of reason and passion.”The review was enthusiastic about the production overall, calling Lorenzaccio “a gem in the 2004-2005 theatre season.”For Pedro’s archive, the review is particularly useful because it gives us a contemporary impression of how he and his fellow actors approached the Strozzi family: balancing the family’s principles with the emotion and urgency of the political situation around them.Read the original review:
https://www.curtainup.com/lorenzaccio.html

Production Design

The visual scale of Lorenzaccio was a significant part of the production.Set designer Ming Cho Lee created a flexible environment capable of moving rapidly between the many locations required by de Musset’s sprawling story. Sliding walls and architectural openings allowed the production to shift between palaces, streets, churches and private rooms without lengthy scene changes.Costume designer Murell Horton drew inspiration from Renaissance artwork while deliberately avoiding costumes that felt like museum reproductions. He wanted the clothing to remain historically believable while making the characters visually accessible to a modern audience.His costume work for Lorenzaccio later received a 2006 Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Costume Design.

Support the Stage

Before the screens, there was the stage. Regional and nonprofit theaters gave Pedro places to learn, experiment, take risks, and build the career we celebrate today.

If you enjoyed discovering this part of his story, consider supporting the theater that helped make it possible, whether that means seeing a show, making a donation, becoming a member, or simply following and sharing their work.

Support live theater. It gave us Pedro.

Fun Fact

Several members of the Lorenzaccio company would reunite at Shakespeare Theatre Company two years later.

In the company’s 2007 production of Hamlet:

  • Jeffrey Carlson, who played Lorenzo in Lorenzaccio, became Hamlet.

  • Robert Cuccioli, who played Alessandro, became Claudius.

  • Ted van Griethuysen, Pedro’s father in Lorenzaccio, played the Ghost, First Player and Gravedigger.

  • Pedro returned as Horatio.

  • Michael Kahn again directed.