Change has always been a constant (she says playfully) in the world, life and the arts. What is old is new again. Styles in art that were once considered primitive are reborn as modern -- an avoidance of complexity and detail for a clear, uncluttered expression of whatever made/makes us human then and now. And back and forth we go from psychological complexity to metaphoric purity; either approach, when done well, capable of bringing us to a precious glimmer of truth.
It is the latter approach playwright/director Mary Zimmerman takes in her stage adaptation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses", recently seen in a smaller space at the Second Stage Theatre (previously in several productions outside New York), and now continuing at Circle in the Square. Ovid took himself a little less seriously than other tellers of the ancient Greco-Roman myths (which is not to say that his work should be taken any less seriously), and Zimmerman's playful approach to these classic tales echoes Ovid's own. (I need not repeat the cliché that we go to the theater, after all, to see a "play.") She selects both familiar myths (e.g. those of Midas, Orpheus, Narcissus) and some that may be new to many audience members (having most likely been censored from our childhood collections). Also in the style of Ovid, her tales move fluidly from one to the next and morph freely from a "classical" telling to what might be termed "fun with anachronism." Some tales are given more focus than others; for a few of the better known, a brief inventive visual encapsulates the whole.
Perhaps as a nod to the poet's prologue -- a literal representation of the creation-myth separation of the earth, heavens and waters -- the stage is dominated by a large shallow pool, a playing area used by the actors throughout with varying degrees of success. [A small sign as you enters the theater warns those holding tickets for the first or second rows to beware of the splash effect, an admonition that comes a bit late if you've already dressed in dry-cleanables.] At its best, as in the telling of the story of Myrrha and her father (one of the tales most likely left out of your Hamilton's), the sounds of the water and the choreography of the water ballet bring the tale a compelling eroticism. In Phaeton's story, the pool inspires a wonderfully whimsical, contemporary approach. But occasionally the flailing and the splashing in an otherwise dramatic moment elicits inappropriate giggles, wrenching the audience out of its generally mesmerized state.
One might also quibble with some of the cast. A few are more successful in the modernized tales, either by dint of an inherent contemporaryness or because of trained voices that still have to strain for the more classical effect. Most, however, especially Raymond Fox (Midas and others) and Felicity Jones (Aphrodite and others), move easily from style to style or from mood to mood. Other deficiencies have a minimal effect on the pervading success of the production. The actors began together in the original production at Northwestern University; one understands (and commends) the loyalty in keeping the company together.
Mara Blumenfeld's fanciful costumes are well matched to the approach of the piece, and composer Willy Schwartz' music captures and enhances its moodiness. The lights are designed by T.J. Gerckens, the wet set by Daniel Ostling, and the mopping of the deck the responsibility of the actors.
A measure (for me) of the evening's power is that after a few minutes I completely forgot my companion of the evening was late (seats smack in the middle of the long 3rd row) until the seating break. Only a brief time passed before the tension left me again, replaced by the more primal tension of losing oneself in the theater.