Returning to the roots: The Odyssey at Taproot Theatre
Odysseus leaving Calypso, photo by Erik Stuhaug
A young woman sits on a stool, holding a book in her hand. Her expression is perplexed, frustrated..
"Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story…"
She stops.
"Sing in me, Muse, and…"
She stops again and throws the book down, exasperated. She gives it one last try, when from the darkness behind her appears another woman, dressed in flowing burgundy robes with gold trim. The young woman reads quietly, unaware of her presence. The woman steps gently, deliberately like a dancer, the tiara upon her head glowing in the light. Suddenly she seizes the young woman's body. She gasps. The other grabs her hands and begins to dance with her. The young woman dances and cries out:
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story
of that man skilled in all ways of contending,
the wanderer, harried for years on end,
after he plundered the stronghold
on the proud height of Troy!
Her words call forth the actors. Emerging from the darkness, they take their places. The Muse Calliope leads the young student off the stage. The adventure has begun.
Paring away all of the mannerism and vestiges of the dull "classical style," Taproot Theater's staging of The Odyssey recovers the greatness of storytelling. It is immediate, direct and wonderful, and an excellent reminder of what is vitally missing from most theater: roughness.
Roughness is the soul of the popular theater, of pantomimes, of Punch and Judy shows, of cabarets. Roughness revitalizes. When everywhere else the theater has become overwrought and pompous, the roughness of the popular theater peels away the glossy patina. Concentrating on the heart of the matter it returns the theater to the realm of imagination. No period costumes? Big deal. No fancy scene decorations? Whatever. Got an idea? Let's go! It is all about the story and how one tells it.
Director Scott Nolte clearly understands this. His staging is very spare indeed, with never more than a pair of chairs on the thrust stage and a simple vomitorium at the rear of the stage, with the two audience aisles used for entrances and exits. With this sparse staging, one must concentrate on the story and the telling, as that is all there is.
And well told it is. Not only the adults in the audience but the numerous children as well were invited to follow along and lose themselves in the story, its themes of love, pride, faith and loyalty, but especially its marvelous comedy. The staging of the encounter with the Sirens is particularly brilliant. Mr. Nolte is well-served by a fine cast including Nikki Visel as Athena, Randy Scholz as Telemachus and Mark Chamberlin as Odysseus. The entire cast have multiple characters to play yet retain a lucid distinction between roles by being consistently aware of what the story needs. A tall order, but one well met.
After inheriting centuries of dull academic lectures on ancient Greek culture and sterile analysis of dactylic hexameters and the nature of hubris and hamartia, one may well forget what The Odyssey actually is: not just the basis for almost all storytelling in our culture, but also one of the greatest stories ever told. Taproot's production aims to remind people of the richness of story, and its primacy. It is a lesson other theaters would do well to remember.
Feb 4 - Mar 5 // Taproot Theatre, 204 N 85th St // $20-35, $10 Ages 25 and under
