A not-so-tragic `Medea' ; Gender-bending sendup shows that Euripides' tragedy can be a hoot
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Theater review
"Medea, The Musical"
Theater review
"Medea, The Musical," ArtsWest Playhouse, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle; plays Thursdays-Saturdays through July 15 ($18-$22; 206-938-0339).
Also playing Theatre Fabulon's "All About Medea," Re-bar, 1114 E. Howell St., Seattle; plays Fridays-Sundays through Aug. 6 ($12; 206-323-0388).
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It may sound weird, but there are currently not one, but two comedies running in Seattle that send-up Euripides' great tragic heroine, Medea.
Theatre Fabulon's "All About Medea," written by Mark Mitchell and directed by Ilya Pearlman, bills itself as a dark backstage comedy about a small theater company presenting a drag version of "Medea." In West Seattle, John Fisher's "Medea, The Musical," directed by John Vreeke, is also a comic romp revolving around a gay version of the tragedy.
The Medea in question, is of course, the one who helped Jason get the Golden Fleece and eventually killed her own children as revenge on him. Doesn't sound funny? Guess again. Judging by the opening night of Fisher's clever, irreverent, over-the-top comedy last Friday at ArtsWest, it's a very funny subject, indeed.
"Medea, The Musical" lampoons gender stereotyping, political correctness, every kind of sexual inhibition, and the cliches and conventions of a wide variety of theatrical and musical styles. Its dialogue is both sharp-witted and broadly comic. The production uses every known bit of clowning and shtick in the history of the theater.
Here's the main plot: A theater director (the brilliantly inept Des O'Dell) is attempting to stage a gay version of "Medea" but he is bullied by his actors and stage crew who have agendas of their own. The actor hired to portray Jason (the believably versatile Jeffrey Resta) has been a committed homosexual since the age of 5 but falls in love with the woman playing Medea (Anne Guetti, blessed with a delightfully rich, country-style singing voice).
This (temporary) betrayal of his sexuality astounds and offends all his friends and lovers, including his past lover (the wonderfully woeful Martin Dunham), his present lover (Michael McCabe as a guy both into heavy leather sadism and classic movies) and future lover (Demone Gore as an innocent hunk who wonders why he has to play all his scenes shirtless). His sudden hetero love affair also drives the director crazy.
"Could you play it more gay! You're playing it straight. You act like you're in love with her. You are ruining my concept!" he says. Jason responds by calling him a "homosexist."
Subplots abound. The actress playing Phaedra, the tragic Greek character who lusts after her stepson, lusts after her stepbrother in real life. Ellen Dessler, another honey-voiced-singer and sharp comic actress, plays this role. A couple of heavy rockers - the chubby but sexy Bill Zorn in a red wig and his unhappy sidekick Christopher Zinovitch - add to the chaos.
Ron Leamon's costumes range from furry argonauts to slick lounge lizards. Wendy Cohen's vigorous choreography careens from rock to jazz to disco.
"Medea, the Musical" may be primarily a campy send-up of gay polemics, but it is also, like all good backstage comedies, a celebration of the art of the theater: a tribute to the fun, mayhem and hard work that goes into making a play. There are the impossibly overtasked stage manager (hilariously harassed Amber Gotlib), the driven, implacable costumer (a brilliant small comic turn by Jay Irwin), the much-criticized choreographer (lithe Jeanette LeGault), and the put-upon bit-part players Andrew Gunn as a gay deer and Libya Taylor as Cupid. Then there is the poor pianist (Aaron Weiss who plays a mean piano as well as getting the comedy right) who has to go out and improvise when the play within a play implodes into chaos.
"Comedy is all about being offensive," the director says. "I thought you said it was all about transitions?" an actor retorts. "It's all about transitions from one offensive thing to another."
Well, "Medea the Musical" is full of wonderful transitions from Noel Coward wit to prehistoric howls. It's also got a little something to offend everyone. Age 16 and over, the program notes say. Leave the kids at home.
Oh, and speaking of kids. How did they make a joke of Medea's killing her children? Remember that old vaudeville bit with grown-up men dressed like little babies in diapers and bibs? It starts there and goes on, and believe me, it works.