Antigone, Presented by the Girls of St. Catherine’s
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Sacred Fools Theater Company
Through April 11 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]
St. Catherine’s Catholic girls’ school is bringing back drama club — and the show must go on. But what if that means covering up a scandal that has the potential to ruin not only their production of Antigone, but the lives of teachers and students alike? Sacred Fools Theater Company’s production of Antigone, Presented by the Girls of St. Catherine’s, is the West Coast premiere of Madhuri Shekar’s play about friendship, first loves, and breaking the silence.
For the girls of St. Catherine’s, the real drama is behind the scenes. Greta (Madeleine Hernandez) is playing Ismene, although she secretly wishes she was playing Antigone. Her best friend Marilyn is playing Antigone, but she’s more interested in her charming and passionate drama teacher Mr. Reed (Luis Fernandez-Gil) than she is in the play. When Greta discovers a shocking secret, she must grapple with her own sense of morality and duty. Hernandez as Greta and Scarlet Sheppard as Susan — the head girl who is entrusted to protect her peers and help run the drama club — deliver the most grounded and nuanced performances in a cast that occasionally tips into shrill teen girl stereotypes. In Greta and Susan, we see the Greek tragedy play out. Do they stand up for what’s right and risk everything, or swallow injustice in order to keep the peace?
The set (Amanda Knehans) attempts an aesthetic blend of the worlds of Antigone and St. Catherine’s, but ends up as a confusing and less-than-functional amalgam that doesn’t reveal any information about the school or its environs. Temporally, the play is firmly in the 90s — think uniforms accessorized with scrunchies and the Spice Girls as transition music. This allows the relationships between the girls to unfold without the influence of social media, isolating them from the outside world.
The plot and that of Sophocles’s Antigone are a bit too divergent, making the play-within-a-play framing device seem occasionally clunky. Still, the problems of these high schoolers are emphatically depicted with appropriately high stakes, making the story feel gripping and engaging. The slow-burn revelation of the girls’ secret is achingly frustrating, made even more painful with the realization that knowledge doesn’t always equate to power in a battle against authority.
The Broadwater Main Stage, 1078 Lillian Way, Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (except Mar. 15); Mon., 8 p.m. (Mar. 30 only); through Apr. 11 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]. https://www.sacredfools.org/. Running time: 100 minutes with no intermission.
