One thing can be said for Throughline Theatre Company’s production of Oedipus Rex: It sure is LOUD!
Did director Liam Macik instruct his actors to re-create the oratorical style of classic Greek theater? Or are these poor cast members simply trying to make themselves heard over the production’s high-volume soundscape? Either way, it’s LOUD!
Sophocles’ most famous work about the King of Thebes (translated here by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald) tells the simple tale of boy gets parents, boy loses parents, boy gets new parents, boy kills biological father and marries biological mother. Yeah, that one. It seems an odd choice for summer-theater fare.
The problem with Greek tragedy (and we have Aristotle to thank for this) is that all the “good stuff” happens offstage or — worse — before the play begins. And the audience hears about it only secondhand.
Meanwhile, not only is the volume knob in Oedipus Rex turned to full, so is the emotional one: It starts high and stays there. After 90 minutes, it’s too exhausting.
Joseph Ryan Yow looks quite kingly as Oedipus, but this production makes it difficult to feel emotionally connected to him.
Two cast members are stand-outs. As she floats about the set, Lauren Connolly epitomizes regal grace playing Queen Iocaste. Also quite good is Peter Fedyshin, who cuts a dashing figure as her brother Creon.
The hard-working chorus (every Greek tragedy has one) rarely leaves the stage. Choreographer Katie Trupiano keeps them from being static, but one wishes they were a little more synchronized vocally.
The set, by Elliot Gardner, is beautifully simple. Not only does it fit perfectly in the space at the Grey Box Theatre, it perfectly fits the script. One thing director Macik has done well is move his cast of 13 seamlessly on this lovely playing space. The blocking of the production flows effortlessly.
To Throughline Theatre’s credit, it doesn’t make the easy choices. And — on Saturday night, at least — it managed to draw a decent-size crowd. Even for Greek tragedy.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2013.
I haven’t seen the production, but I can tell you this much: the reviewer might want to consult a history text. No, we don’t have Aristotle to thank for the lack of onstage “action” in Greek tragedy. For one thing, Aristotle lived and wrote his treatise on drama nearly 100 years after Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides lived and wrote their plays. Aristotle’s Poetics contains his analysis of what they’d created, and his judgments about what was successful. It’s later critics and artists, beginning in the Neoclassical period, who’ve taken them to be prescriptive. More relevant, perhaps, to this production: the Greeks (i.e. Athenians) believed poetic descriptions of violence to be more effective than violent actions for generating powerful emotions among spectators. Whether that remains true today is a legitimate question.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I didn’t know what to expect from a Greek tragedy play but was overwhelmed emotionally by the story line and the emotion shown by Joseph Ryan Yow as Oedipus. I cried during the show twice in feeling his pain of what happened to his character.
The Throughline Threatre Company is a very talented group and I wouldn’t miss any of their shows. It gives me a chance to see what I’ve missed / not paid attention to. The set was perfect, great sound system, and the costumes gorgeous. The Grey Box Theatre has been very easy to get to with parking and food nearby from small local businesses.
I will continue to support this young group with their efforts by attending and with my money!