Metamorphoses
Reviewed by V Cate
A Noise Within
Thru June 5
RECOMMENDED
Myth is a symbolic narrative which reveals within its essence a resonant truth of what it means to be mortal. Myth often deals with issues larger than mundane, everyday happenings; rather, myth attempts to probe the very fabric of the cosmos, to find commonalities within mankind, and to chart the course of the most prominent themes of our existence: life, love, grief, desire, sex, death. Myth, then, is timeless – as timeless as the unchanging core of the human condition.
Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, adapted from David R. Slavitt’s translation of Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, is a scholarly work. First produced in 1998, and winning Zimmerman a Tony Award for Best Director in 2002, the play calls upon ancient Greek mythos and its pantheon. Well-known examples like King Midas, Aphrodite, and Orpheus take the stage alongside lesser-known or sometimes nameless characters. The figures and stories are archetypal in nature, and are woven together fluidly.
Speaking of fluid … liquid … water …
At the very core of the production is a 14-inch deep, 580-gallon pool of water which takes up the majority of the playing space. This behemoth is essential to mounting the show, and comes with a host of challenges for the production design. However they managed it, scenic designer Francois-Pierre Couture and team proved up to the task (though the heating of the water for the performers’ comfort meant quite the sauna for the audience, at least on opening night).
The second piece of design specified by the playwright is a chandelier hanging directly over the pool – and this is the only true disappointment in the production. Zimmerman’s vision treats light almost as choreography, or as music, playing with fractals from both water and chandelier in tandem amid the action onstage. However, A Noise Within’s version has merely a rectangular lighting fixture. It gets the job done, and there are some beautiful moments, but no prismatic play, nor does the lighting (as designed by Ken Booth) summon the essence of starlight or of magic.
What this production design does add to the fairly tried-and-true Metamorphoses staging was a back panel, allowing director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott to invoke vignettes as though from Grecian urns.
The ensemble is deft, precise, acrobatic, and each member could well be cited for exceptional work. It is appropriate that the first myth recollects Bacchus, as the manner in which this Greek Chorus performs is essentially a Dionysian rite. In all, the cast of nine play 85 different roles, and they take turns narrating the individual stories or overarching themes. Sometimes the actors have a very quick turnaround in which to change and re-set – a feat made more challenging given the frequency that their hair and clothing become soaking wet.
And the actors do make wonderful use of the water. From Fight Choreographer Kenneth R. Merckx, Jr.’s vision of Poseidon’s wrath to a young woman dissolving into tears, there are countless wonderful ways that the water supports the story, and adds to the magic of the theater.
A Noise Within, 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena; Thurs 7:30pm (dark May 19), Fri/Sat 8pm & Sat/Sun 2pm with additional student matinees (see website for full performance schedule); www.anoisewithin.org or (626)353-3100. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.
