THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS AIRDATE: December 01, 2006
It’s the holiday season and anything goes. So, you
can swing wildly between the ridiculous and the sublime. On the outrageous end
of the continuum, there’s Diversionary Theatre’s production of “It’s a Fabulous
Life.” And on the more serious side, 6th @ Penn is offering a searing rendition
of Euripides’ ”The Bacchae.”
Euripides lived in the 5th century
B.C., but his plays remain timeless. Alas, we still have the same addictions to
extremism, intolerance and war. “The Bacchae” couldn’t be more chillingly
pertinent; it’s all about religious freedom and religious fanaticism. The
centerpiece is Dionysus, god of wine, ecstasy and inspiration, and his frenzied
followers, the Bacchantes. Bacchus, as the Romans called him, is a petulant and
punishing deity. When a young king refuses to believe that Dionysus is
immortal, his punishment is humiliation and death; he’s dressed up like a woman
and dismembered by the Bacchante, one of whom is his mother. Religion, revenge
and violence taken to radical extremes; sounds like the daily news.
For this production, the tiny 6th@Penn
Theatre has been transformed into an appealing but restrictive forest. A chorus
of three garish harpies climb and hide in the trees. Translator Marianne
McDonald has made the story both lucid and shocking. Director Douglas Lay has
created some magical stage moments. But not all the actors are up to the task.
The king is younger than one would expect; the elders aren’t all that old. But Bonnie
Stone is wrenching in her horrified recognition that it was she who killed her
son. The ageless play is a potent cautionary tale about the damage that can be
wrought by ardor, revenge or religion unchecked.
Now, for a whole other take on intolerance, swish
on over to Diversionary Theatre, for its twisted little twist on a holiday
perennial. “It’s a Fabulous Life” concerns a gay man so beleaguered by his
prissy, catty, diva, queenie actor/singer friends, he wishes he weren’t gay at
all. And before he can say ‘Feather boa!,’ a guardian angel appears and grants
his wish. Like the Jimmy Stewart character in the film, Joe learns how
different his world would be if he weren’t in it. And he comes to cherish what
he nearly gave away, including friendship and love. Under the direction and
choreography of David Brannen, the cast is a riot, though varied in their
singing and dancing abilities. The songs, like “Randolph the Rainbow Reindeer,”
are not just campy, they’re clever. It’s over the top but somehow irresistible.
It’s hard not to get a good laugh from this goofy, glitzy paean to old movies,
gay icons and the unrelenting love of lavender.
So, this holiday season, go wild, or go Greek.
©2006 Patté Productions
Inc.