Metamorphoses Review
Photo By Chana Williams
This fall semester the Centenary Theatre Program put on Metamorphoses with director Jared Watson. Metamorphoses is a play by Mary Zimmerman based on the early narrative poem of the same name written by Ovid. The play takes the shape of a series of short scenes related to each other initially through the fact that they are Greek and Roman myths and slowly leading to an ultimate intertwining of previous threads.
Now, although I myself am not directly involved in the theatre department,I love going to any theatre performance when I can and I have often been impressed by what our theatre manages to do. And with the sensibilities of writing film reviews I thought I’d try my hand at talking about how CTP did with Metamorphoses. And, though previous plays (Puffs and Mac Beth) claim the spot of first and second favorite, this show was another knockout by CTP. I was impressed by the effort that went into set design, acting, and various other elements that came together to create this experience.
If you didn’t manage to make it out to the Marjorie Lyons Playhouse last weekend that is an unfortunate shame, but I know there is one thing you would have heard- the stage was stunning. The room was set up to be in the style of a black box theatre, a setup onstage with temporary black walls to create a smaller space and cozy feeling. In the MLP there was seating on three sides of the performance area letting the audience’s experience change depending on where they sat, especially if it was in the front two rows that were lovingly dubbed ‘the splash zone.’ You see, dear reader, there, in the center of this fabricated room, was a large pool of water in which all scenes occurred. The rest of the set design lent itself well to this pool and the movement of people and story. It is a particular curiosity of mine how that pool of how this setup was structurally built because it seemed as though the stage had always been like this. Never at any point was I concerned about a sudden flood or someone falling through the constructed floors.
Despite a small cast, CTP was able to portray a wide variety of characters that were distinctly different from each other. In part this is a commendation to the actors and their ability to change the minutiae of themselves to create this clarity. In fact the cast’s ability to stay in specific character was so well done that not one, but two people were carried offstage and managed to stay as frozen as they were supposed to be. So too must the crew behind the scenes be praised. Costumes were simple but did not blend into each other and I was always surprised to see an actor walk back on stage looking less like they had just been drowning, drenched through and through, and more like they’d just gotten out of a shower. I think it could have been far too easy to get lazy and let the characters blend but CTP did not allow themselves to fall short.
There is one scene in particular I want to talk about, that I found most striking. Baucis and Philemon became a tree so they would never be apart. The actors clung to each other with arms reaching out to become branches so perfectly created the image of a tree. Then the rest of the cast made their way onstage and into water, bringing lit lilies to create a whole scene before us. It was as though we were there, in a sort of paradise. I had almost forgotten him but when King Midas came clinking his way into the scene I thought ‘of course. This is that magical pool he was told to wash his hands in.’ Upon seeing the pool Midas rushed to the water’s edge with a desperation that had gone unmatched even in the midst of these prior tragedies. The brief pause as he hesitates to bring that rope back out of the water, so afraid of if he will be cursed forever and then he does and it is no longer gold. His daughter ran to him and even though he was hesitant she was not, y’all I almost cried. It all culminating in that moment, bringing the play full circle and just how well the actors portrayed their characters- I might as well have been a blade of grass in the real world witnessing this scene.
I only really had two complaints, the first not even a fault of CTP but I believe the play itself. Metamorphoses uses multiple genres, primarily comedy and tragedy, that for the most part blend together well. However there were a few points where I wanted to sit with an emotion and too quickly the scene jumped at a laugh or had a quick turn around. CTP handled these oddities fairly well and, again, I think that is just how the play is written.
Secondly, I only got to go once, and some of my friends didn’t get to go at all! Seriously, I had such a good time. It was incredibly funny and intriguing and saddening and I believe wholeheartedly that CTP did a wonderful job.
