Review: Condola Rashad is Divine as “Saint Joan”

After “Ruined,” “The Trip to Bountiful,” “Romeo and Juliet” and last season’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” (not to mention three Tony nominations) the time has finally come for Condola Rashad to take center stage, to be a leading lady, to have all eyes on her. Broadway has been waiting far too long for this moment. Condola Rashad is a star, and now she is right where she belongs, at the center of Daniel Sullivan’s revival of “Saint Joan” at the Freidman Theatre, which opened on Wednesday.

George Bernard Shaw, who although long dead is lucky enough to have inspired two pieces currently on Broadway, wrote that in “Saint Joan” there are no villains; there is Joan the Maid and there is everyone else. This 1923 historical play concerns Joan of Arc, her attempts to help France with the Hundred Years War, and the Catholic Church’s eventual trial and execution of her for heresy. Thus, for most of the piece we are in the year 1429, exploring castles, battlegrounds, and churches.

Thankfully a sumptuous set by Scott Pask and transformative lighting by Justin Townsend made the piece feel chic, modern, and relevant. The space is framed with giant gold pipes, reminiscent of an inverted organ, which gave the world a Medieval tone without feeling like a stale period piece. That same cannot be said of Jane Greenwood’s costumes, which look like an overly colorful set of rented pieces from an old “Pippin” or “Once Upon this Mattress” production; a rare miss for such an iconic designer.

Despite the inconsistent design of the piece, Sullivan’s production was otherwise refined, choosing to focus more on the characters and the personal conflicts than on the confusing historical details (which include a disinherited French heir, a randomly powerful English duke, clergymen with complex titles, and a lot of talk about Burgundians). This approach strengthened the production overall, allowing the actors to shine and the audience to focus on character development instead of the progress of a complicated war.

Other than the magnificent Condola Rashad, the production was made up almost exclusively of men, playing powerful…