Ancient stories sad, funny, sexy, engaging.Byline: Dorothy Velasco For The Register-Guard When you enter the University of Oregon's Robinson Theatre to see "Metamorphoses," you'll be surprised that nearly the entire stage floor is covered with water, mostly shallow but elsewhere deep enough for submersion submersion the act of placing, or the condition of being under, the surface of a liquid. . A two-story building tilts and appears half-sunken in mud. Its crumbling stairway leads to the abode One's home; habitation; place of dwelling; or residence. Ordinarily means "domicile." Living place impermanent in character. The place where a person dwells. Residence of a legal voter. Fixed place of residence for the time being. of ancient Greek Noun 1. Ancient Greek - the Greek language prior to the Roman Empire Greek, Hellenic, Hellenic language - the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages and Roman gods. A dock and a few dry areas allow for action on land, including a laundry-washing scene featuring 1930s-style laundresses reminiscent of the sirens in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou." The singing, however, is gorgeously eerie Latin hymns. What we have here is a brilliant, artful stage adaptation of 10 myths and stories collected into a long poem by Ovid about 2000 years ago. About 10 years ago, director-playwright Mary Zimmerman Mary Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where she is currently a faculty member in the Performance Studies department. worked with actors for several years to develop this deeply satisfying work that eventually ended up on Broadway. You wouldn't expect to find it on the Great White Way next to "The Lion King," but it garnered critical and popular success. Now, director John Schmor, head of the university theater department, has created a beautiful production on campus. A strong ensemble cast An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different of 13 takes turns narrating into microphones and performing as various characters. Sometimes the characters in the stories also tell stories, in effect lifting layer after layer, going deeper and deeper into the ancient psyche, to take us closer and closer to a distant mysterious source. At the beginning we meet Midas, he of the golden touch, in a richly humorous but touching performance by Kato Buss. And we happily reconnect with him at the end. "Metamorphoses," as you can tell from the title, is about change, especially change brought by love - love found, love lost, the redemption of love. Some of these changes are caused by malcontent mal·con·tent adj. Dissatisfied with existing conditions. n. 1. A chronically dissatisfied person. 2. One who rebels against the established system: gods, some by the foolishness or tenacity of humans. One of the most familiar tales is that of Orpheus, the world's leading poet-singer, and Eurydice, his bride killed by a snake on their wedding day. Orpheus follows her into the underworld, where Hades Hades (hā`dēz), in Greek and Roman religion and mythology. 1 The ruler of the underworld: see Pluto. 2 The world of the dead, ruled by Pluto and Persephone, located either underground or in the far west beyond the grants him permission to take her back to life on Earth if he can walk all the way without turning to look at her. Human nature dictates the outcome. One of the most entertaining scenes shows Phaeton, the son of the sun, as a spoiled rich kid telling a shrink how his father has neglected him. Matt Wells For the Australian field hockey player, see . For the boxer, see . Matt Wells is a videographer and co-host on a TV program called The Loop Weekend on Canadian music television station MuchMoreMusic. is terrific as Phaeton and Sophie Kruip holds her own as the self-important therapist proud of her theories. Another amusing scene features Jameson Tabor as Vertumnus, a light-footed sprite hopelessly in love with the stolid stol·id adj. stol·id·er, stol·id·est Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive: "the incredibly massive and stolid bureaucracy of the Soviet system" wood nymph Pomona (Zoe Proval in bright green rubber boots and gardening gloves). Tabor can dance and sing (he leads the chorus) and he's one of several talented freshmen or sophomores to keep in sight, including the aforementioned Wells and Kruip. Additional young performers who will surely give us pleasure for a few years to come are Andrew Poletto (Dionysus and Narcissus Narcissus, in the Bible Narcissus (närsĭs`əs), in the New Testament, Roman whose household was partly Christian. Narcissus, in Roman history Narcissus, d. A.D. ), Jacob King (Orpheus and Eros) and Alexis Schaetzle (Eurydice and Ceres). Others in the talented cast (closer to graduation) include Stephanie Brubaker, compelling as Myrrha, forced by Aphrodite Aphrodite (ăfrədī`tē), in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. Homer designated her the child of Zeus and Dione. to fall in love with her own father, Braden Coucher (Zeus), Courtney Kearney (Aphrodite and Hunger), Jeremy Mclaughlin (Ceyx and Philemon) and young Olivia Buss, who plays Midas' daughter. Some stories are sad, some are hilarious, many are sexy and all add to our understanding of human nature. In 90 minutes without an intermission not a moment is less than engaging. The texture is so rich that I would have liked program notes telling more about the characters. The show features outstanding scenic design by Brad Steinmetz, movement design by Walter Kennedy, costumes by Alexandra Bonds and lighting by Janet Rose. Many of these stories are known by nearly everyone. Others are more obscure but their cumulative effect is cathartic cathartic (kəthär`tĭk): see laxative. , sending us out of the theater with a sense of awe and hope. What a welcome gift. PLAY REVIEW Metamorphoses When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, plus May 15-16 and May 24; and 2 p,m. May 10 Where: Robinson Theatre, 1109 Old Campus Lane Tickets: $14 (346-4363) |
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