Risky performance of Greek tragedy falls flat
By KAREN SHADE, 6/11/2005
Mark Miller as Heracles (left), Kristin Ruyle as the Maid and Dale Sams as Lichas in the Theatre Club's production of "Alcestis." STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World
When I heard that Theatre Club produced a Greek tragedy adapted by one of the most illustrious names in modern literature, I was curious and went to see "Alcestis" with a certain degree of expectation.
But the Ted Hughes' version of Euripides' classic doesn't translate entirely well in the hands of Theatre Club.
You have to give the group credit, however, for trying something so vastly different from what anyone else is offering on Tulsa's stage, and it does have it's moments.
"Alcestis" starts out on a good foot. The god Apollo (Matt Garrett) clues us in to what is about to take place. He is a god and an ordinary guy wearing a T-shirt (spiffed up a bit with a cape), faulty and recognizing it.
Apollo stands before the house of King Admetos and tells us that inside the queen is dying. King Admetos, who had been doomed by fate to perish in his prime, was spared because of his wife's sacrifice to take his place in the underworld.
Death (David Dillinger Jeffer is) soon makes his entrance to claim Alcestis. An obvious presence in white and black make-up, Death looks like an '80s hair-band devotee in leather jacket and jeans, and he borders on a cliche.
When Admetos (Bryan Reed) and Alcestis (Valerie Stefan) appear on stage, they create a pretty picture.
Alcestis is lovely in her gown, crown, and deathly pallor, but Stefan speaks her lines as if she is still on-book and in the first read-through. Inexperience, perhaps, but it glares throughout the short time she spends on stage as the character whose fate dominates the play.
Reed does well as the good-but-arrogant king who blames others for his beloved wife's death. Although he conveys the right expressions on his face and in his voice, much of it is indecipherable.
"A numbed mouth with swollen lips left behind by a pain too huge to utter," Admetos explains to Heracles. That or a stuffy nose might explain it.
As for Heracles (Mark Miller) and company, they turn a show, which had been on a direct trek toward depression, into an odd, complete reversal in the middle of the show.
Admetos' house guest, Heracles spends much of his time under the kings' roof drunk and oblivious to the fact that everyone in the household is in mourning.
"I saw it -- I never interpreted... I thought some resident stranger had died," Heracles tells a servant who informs him the queen has died.
Heracles and pals are entertaining and give nice relief from the storm clouds hanging over the rest of the cast, even the chorus, which Hughes has made a more active part of the story -- friends to the king and his court.
The "Alcestis" set is a curious mix of Greek columns and Christian imagery tied with modern abstraction and graffiti.
Costumes range from ordinary street wear (Heracles) to classically treated gowns (Alcestis) to a mix of both.
It's not necessary for everything to "match" in such a show, but nothing really ties the design into a coherent environment that supports the action rather than detracting from it.
"Alcestis" was strongest when nothing came between its audience and the tension of self-preservation versus sacrifice, most clearly displayed between Admetos and his father, Pheres (Derek Adams).
Every voice laments the fate of Admetos and the loss of the queen. The chorus reproaches the king's aged parents for refusing to give up their lives for him.
When Pheres, who isn't as old as they make him sound, visits his son's house to honor Alcestis in death, Admetos attacks him with words of contempt.
Defending himself, Pheres points the finger back to Admetos who allowed Alcestis to die for him.
It's difficult to feel sympathy for someone so willing to pass the buck.
Adams proves to be the strongest of the cast in his brief time on stage and brings out the best performance in the show from Reed.
But between long speeches from the chorus and individual characters, it's tough to pull that type of interaction consistently throughout.
In the end, Alcestis is reunited with her husband after being rescued by Heracles.
Can a Greek tragedy be a tragedy if it has a happy ending?
This one can, if only to add to the eccentricity of this production. Theatre Club has made a visit into less chartered territory, but maybe repeated excursions will improve its knack for interpreting the unconventional.
"Alcestis" continues its run at the Nightingale Theatre, 1416 E. Fourth St., at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Tickets are $10. For reservations or more information, call Theater Club at 557-8012 or send an e-mail to theatreclubtulsa@yahoo.com.