Andrew Brian Carter, Rose Portillo, Tanya Verafield, Alexandra Lee and Donna Simone Johnson (Photo by Mallury Patrick)
Reviewed by Madison Mellon
Outside In Theatre
Through June 9
RECOMMENDED
Alexandra Lee, Andrew Brian Carter and Tanya Verafield (Photo by Mallury Patrick)
In an ocean of Greek myth adaptations, Outside In Theatre’s production of O: A Rhapsody in Divorce finds a genuinely fresh angle. Written by Jami Brandli and directed by Jessica Hanna, the play cleverly reframes The Odyssey through a female lens, asking what happens when the woman is the one who leaves home to embark on a journey while the men remain behind waiting for her return. The result is an inventive, emotionally resonant piece that uses mythological parallels to explore divorce, identity, and the connections women build in the aftermath of heartbreak.
O (Tania Verafield), a neurobiologist reeling from the collapse of her marriage, sets out on a winding emotional odyssey populated by modernized versions of figures from Homer’s epic. Along the way she encounters everything from seductive distractions to wise mentors to moments of painful self-reckoning, all while trying to rediscover who she is outside the confines of her former life.
Brandli’s script is consistently ingenious, balancing sharp humor with genuine emotional weight. What begins as a light and clever mythological conceit gradually reveals itself to be rich and emotionally grounded. O: A Rhapsody in Divorce ultimately feels less like a play about divorce than a play about the ways women support, challenge, and uplift one another in its aftermath.
The emotional climax involving O’s reunion with her mother lands with particular force, grounding the play’s mythic scope in something deeply human and recognizable.
If there is one element that feels less fully realized, it is the recurring neurobiology lectures O gives on love and heartbreak: While compelling in isolation, these never quite integrate as seamlessly into the larger mythological framework of the play.
The actors are excellent and keep the production consistently engaging. They fluidly shift between a large ensemble of characters with impressive versatility. As O, Verafield serves as the story’s emotional anchor. She maintains O’s dry wit and intellectual sharpness even during the character’s darkest moments, never allowing the role to tip into sentimentality. Donna Simone Johnson is another standout as Woman, delivering many of the evening’s funniest moments, particularly as the eccentrically “woo-woo” leader of a divorce support group.
The production design by Scene Shift smartly reinforces the play’s central metaphor. Scenic elements evoke the feeling of a ship at sea, with ropes anchored along the edges of the stage and rolling set pieces constantly shifting and transforming. The design allows the production to move rapidly through its many locations while maintaining the sensation of an ongoing voyage. By the play’s conclusion, O: A Rhapsody in Divorce succeeds not only as a clever mythological reimagining, but as an insightful exploration of reinvention, resilience, and the long journey of self-discovery.
Outside in Theatre, 5317 York Boulevard, Highland Park. Sat., Mon.-Tues., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru June 9. https://outsideintheatre.org/o-a-rhapsody-in-divorce/ two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.
