Artist Interview: In the Rehearsal Room with Frank X
The MAN FOR ALL SEASONS actor on playing Sir Thomas More, channeling a complex historical figure, and what the play can teach us today
Frank X is one of Philadelphia’s most beloved performers. Audiences have seen him in Lantern Theater Company productions of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Tempest, and As You Like It, among many other plays on our stage and throughout the region. In the Lantern’s production of Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons — live on stage March 10 through April 9, 2022 — Frank is now taking on the towering role of Sir Thomas More, tapping into his unique combination of searing intelligence and deep empathy to bring this historical figure vividly to life. Lantern resident dramaturg Meghan Winch caught up with Frank during rehearsals to discuss his history with the play, how he approaches the role, and what Thomas More’s story can teach audiences today.
MEGHAN WINCH: So you and Tony Lawton [the actor playing Thomas Cromwell in this production] actually brought this play to the Lantern.
FRANK X: This has been in the back of our heads for years. Both Tony and I would work together on a show, and we’d enthuse about A Man for All Seasons. There were a few other actors who got involved, but it was Tony and I again and again. And then one day Tony said, “You know, we should do this someday. You should be More and I should be Cromwell.” And I was like, “Great!” And then another year passed. Literally, we didn’t mention it. We do another show, and Tony said, “We should do a reading of it for the Lantern. This would be really good for the Lantern.” We did the reading and it was a lot of fun. I thought “This is it. This is where it ends. I’m never going to play Thomas More.” And now — how lovely!
MW: What drew you to the play originally?
FX: I loved the movie. And I’ve always been a history geek…I was that 12-year-old in West Philly who could rattle off Henry VIII’s wives, you know, which impressed no one.
MW: It would have impressed me!
FX: Ah, thank you. It’s kind of a conversation killer… But I was so fascinated by Tudor history. I still am. So part of the joy of doing this play is immersing myself into their history…I unfortunately bored my friends to tears when I would find out some little tidbit about something. And it was like, “Oh, please, don’t let him find something today!”
MW: Well, tell me! Tell me your favorite tidbit.
FX: I’ve always been in love with what I call mundane history. I didn’t realize how there actually are historians who specialize in living history, which is like, okay, Henry VIII had six wives and all this political manipulation. But what did the ordinary man do? What did he eat? What did he wear? Do you know about the sumptuary laws?
MW: Tell me, please!
FX: Oh, it’s utterly fascinating. When Henry VIII rose to power, there were already sumptuary laws, but there was also a rising merchant class around this time. And Henry VIII was disturbed that rich merchants could be mistaken for aristocrats, for lords and ladies. So he brought back the sumptuary laws in a huge way. The two big ways I think they manifested themselves were in clothes, because that was the thing you saw the most, but also dining.
So depending on your class, you were only allowed to eat certain foods, and also the number of courses you could have a dinner. Peasants were at the bottom, but Tudors were allowed to eat everything — everything that could walk or swim or fly. One of Queen Catherine of Aragon’s favorite dishes was porpoise.
MW: Really?
FX: Yeah, she adored it. I love that the play references the swan served when Henry VIII visits the Mores for dinner. I say to Mary Beth [Scallen, who plays Lady Alice, More’s wife]: “We don’t usually eat swan. Because the king is here, we’re probably allowed. Because I’m not an aristocrat.” If a lord is visiting an ordinary person, then they’re allowed — in fact expected — to up their game at the banquet.
In this play, Matthew [More’s servant] drinks wine, which is a violation of sumptuary laws. He could have been fined or worse, for just doing that…Thomas More knows Matthew drank the wine, and isn’t bothered by that, which is really kind of a cool little thing.
MW: So as somebody who has long been fascinated with this period, did you have a relationship to Thomas More before you knew the play? And what is it like as an actor to now inhabit that thing that you’ve been fascinated with for so long?
FX: Oh, well, it’s overwhelming. It really is. Strangely, though I grew up Catholic, I didn’t know Thomas More or his history. Not until I saw the movie. The movie colored my understanding of who he was for a couple of decades. And then you find out there’s a dark side to Thomas More, too. I realize I’m not playing the historical More, who would be even more overwhelming. So full of contradictions. How do you balance that? But even the Thomas Moore that Robert Bolt created is a man of great complexity. I was talking to Mary Beth [Scallen] at today’s rehearsal, and I said, “You know, I don’t even know how to navigate what I’m doing. I realize that I’m a man of belief. And that I have this really overwhelming need to act on my conscience. But I’m, like, wholly aware of what I’m doing to my family with this. They’re suffering terribly, because of me.” And it’s hard to balance that knowledge.
Luckily, Bolt put a little bit of that in the play. We were rehearsing the scene today where we’re talking finances, and I love that we’re talking finances! And how hard that is for a couple, to just be arguing money. What couple hasn’t had that argument so many times? And this is such an extreme situation. So I hope, just that simplicity, the audiences who come will relate to that, find him relatable in that sense.
MW: What are you finding most challenging? And what do you find most exciting?
FX: What is most challenging is what’s most exciting. Right now it’s language. It’s dense. What is most challenging is something [director Peter DeLaurier] brought up. It’s not just Thomas Moore, it’s really everyone in this play. They are so smart, and so quick, and just keeping up with them and their thought processes is daunting and humbling. But it’s also an honor. I do love that.
And also, in this day and time to find a politician who’s so rigidly sticking to what his conscience tells him is quite wonderful. I definitely want to honor the struggle. Because it’s difficult to go your own road. We can’t underestimate how difficult, especially when everyone is against you. I love the moment where he goes to get a boat, and no one will come to him. And he realizes that his fall from grace has filtered down. It’s not just about the court. It’s filtered down. And he didn’t even know it was happening. For such an extraordinary mind, he’s amazingly naive at points. That’s breathtaking. But also completely believable.
MW: What’s it like to be working through all of this with people in a room, finally face-to-face?
FX: You know, the first week and two days — but who’s counting — was on Zoom. And that was good because it just focused us on the words. We managed to get a lot of work done, but coming in and being with these marvelous actors whom I love — and some new people whom I also love — it’s just thrilling. It makes a world of difference. I’ve missed this so much more than I even realized.
MW: I’m so glad! What do you want audiences to take away from this?
FX: I just hope they see themselves. Or, more importantly, their world. What I love more and more about the play is it feels like it’s about today. It feels like it’s about us, in our world. And I think that’s just great writing. We had hoped to do this before this moment, but I think it’s incredibly prescient. I hope audiences see themselves on stage. As the Common Man says at the end of the play, “If you should see me on the street, recognize me.” I think that’s what I want. If we’ve done our job right, hopefully, that’s what people will do.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
More on Lantern Searchlight: The Life of Sir Thomas More: The writer, public servant, and saint behind A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
Lantern Theater Company’s production of A Man for All Seasons is onstage March 10 through April 9, 2022, at Plays & Players Theatre. Visit our website for tickets and information.
