Metamorphoses
 Thursday, July 10th through Saturday, August 9th Thurs-Sat at 8PM; Sun at 2pm The Historic Lankershim Arts Center 5108 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601 Ovation Award Eligible LAStageAlliance.com |
In 2008, the award-winning, critically acclaimed Athena Theatre entered its fifth season, presenting Mary Zimmerman’s astounding theatrical experience Metamorphoses, based on the Greek myths of Ovid. Metamorphoses opened in New York in 2001 and in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum in 2002. What is extraordinary about the play is that its scenes are played in and around a swimming pool. This is not only an innovative concept for theatre, one that definitely attracts an older and younger audience alike, but artistically adds unforgettable touches of beauty for all that see it. The stories in Metamorphoses are the most exciting and astonishing ever written. They are full of comedy, tragedy, pathos, laughter, tears, passion, violence, grief, regret and redemption. Six male and six female actors portray such characters as Midas, Eros, Bacchus, Zeus, Aphrodite, Ceres and Psyche. To quote the Wall Street Journal, “Funny one moment, achingly sorrowful the next, Metamorphoses somehow manages to both lift you out of the moment you?re living in and speak to it with piercing directness.”  |
|||
Starring Brett Aune as Vertumnus and others Sally Conway as Alcyone and others Robin Dalia as Nursemaid and others Sara Beth Lane as Aphrodite and others West Liang as Orpheus and others John A. Lorenz as Phaeton and others Billy Mayo as Erysichthon and others Veronique Ory as Eurydice and others Guy Perry as Hunger and others Gugun Deep Singh as Midas and others Tania Verafield as Myrrha and others Playwright: Mary Zimmerman Director: Patrick Varon Movement Director: Adria Dawn Production Stage Manager: Kevin Jordan Assistant Stage Manager: Monica Greene Set Design: Stefan Depner Lighting Design: Johnny Ryman Costume Design: Kaori Mita Projection Design: Eric Silva Sound Design: David B. Marling Composer: Andrew Edwards Properties Design: Elspeth Weingarten Publicity: Don Grigware Postcard Design: Jeremy Asher |
||||
Click to read the full review
“Over the years that we have covered the presentations of the Athena Theatre Company, the one thing we have mentioned in almost every review has been the willingness of the company to venture into areas that are usually reserved for the intrepid who are not afraid to explore no matter what the results. We?ve seen it with shows like Crimes of the Heart, Waiting for Godot, Pterodactyls and now with Metamorphoses where one the city?s most courageous ensembles steps back in time two thousand years and makes the stories of Ovid as real and up-to-date as anything you see today.
Award winning playwright Mary Zimmerman?s adaptation brings together some of Ovid?s mythical characters around a symbolic pool, where at various times narrators tell stories of the gods as they frolic, laugh, love and even sometimes die. The amazing set construction coupled with music, sound effects and visuals create an idyllic setting where a committed ensemble takes us into the realms of Zeus, Midas, Eurydice, Alcyone and others presenting us with those segments of their myths that have endured centuries?the best judge is the public who attends, and we heard many patrons describe their reactions with one common word as they exited – Beautiful” – Reviewplays
THE CAST
