The Birds
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Sacred Fools Theater Company – The Hollywood Fringe Festival
Through June 27
Euelpides (Lemon Baardsen) and Pithetaerus (Brenda Varda) have decided that Athens is for the birds. Epops (Marc Antonio Pritchett), a man-turned-bird, takes them under his wing and introduces them to his feathered friends. In no time at all, the opportunistic Pithetaerus convinces the birds to build a fabulous city in the sky complete with a big, beautiful wall that will keep even the gods out. He uses the art of the deal to consolidate more and more power until he is worshipped by humans and birds alike. The kicker? Aristophanes wrote this play 2,500 years before Trump.
As with many Greek comedies, the plotline of Aristophanes’ The Birds is a little hazy. But what this play lacks in logic, it makes up for in sheer ridiculousness — lovers of puns will flock to this production’s copious use of bird jokes. And just as Aristophanes did, this show pokes fun at its audience and at society itself. Some of the updated jokes are seriously funny, but there are only so many Trump jokes one can make before it starts to feel stale.
In addition to topical satire, Greek comedies are bursting with song and dance. This production tackles the challenge with a mix of parodies and original tunes, using live instruments and recorded tracks. Again, this attempt to modernize Greek text was a hit or miss — for every killer number, there was one with out-of-tune music and messy dance steps. But while the ensemble as a whole felt disconnected from each other and the story they were telling, select individual performances ruled the roost. Safiya Quinley scootering around as an Instagram-influencer version of the goddess Iris was delightfully goofy; Catherine Chooey and Therese Olson’s deadpan serious commitment to their bird physicalities created two wonderfully weird chorus leaders.
The Birds kills two birds with one stone: It contains an astute political critique about the dangers of unchecked power and it’s a ridiculous story about birds who threaten to poop on the audience. This production understands the heart of this comedy and, quite rightly, doesn’t take itself too seriously. But it also feels unfinished and haphazard, with cluttered staging and offbeat comedic timing. For all of its best intentions, The Birds can’t quite take flight.
The Broadwater Black Box, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood; Sun., Jun. 16, 1 p.m.; Fri., Jun. 21, 6:30 p.m.; Sun., Jun. 23, 3 p.m.; Thurs., Jun. 27, 5 p.m. www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6125. Running time: one hour with no intermission.
