The Odyssey @ Dallas Theater Center(Public Works Dallas)
—Teresa Marrero
Homer´s classic The Odyssey (written between 725 and 675 BCE) was rendered as a larger-than-life musical pageant for three performances at the Dallas Theater Center from July 8-10 as part of DTC’s Public Works Dallas initiative. The DTC teamed up with numerous community centers to bring aspiring performers, young and older, to the stage. Director and Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty introduced the audience to this play by giving us the back story: “Nine months ago, we began with free classes to all ages with the DTC’s community rec center partners… three months ago, auditions were held from all over, many of whom were first-time actors….Six weeks ago, eight professional actors began rehearsals with 100 community members selected to play certain roles….And three weeks ago this piece took shape….” The age-old story of a hero´s journey home after the Trojan Wars was conceived by Lear Debessonet, with book, music and lyrics by Todd Almond.
And a lively and energetic production it is!
A live band upstage, framed by Hollywood Bowl-type arched lighting, set the engaging show in motion, and with visually impressive costumes, visual projections, and original choreography, this production felt immersive. The stage projected out into the audience’s semi-circular seating area, letting us feel “in it,” right there, up close, no matter where we sat. From anywhere in the house, there was a great view.
Imagine a stage filled with one hundred non-professional performers, and eight “pros.” The term “non-professional” doesn’t really tell the story. These weren’t shy folks or dabblers, but highly talented musicians, singers, dancers and actors—even if for some it was their first time on a big-time stage. With such a crowd, the potential to degenerate into chaos was always there—but director Moriarty kept the action tight and the storyline focused.
The story is simple: Ten years after the Trojan War was won, largely in part to our hero Odysseus’ clever invention of the famed Trojan Horse, the man himself (played with touching pathos and empathy by DTC company member Alex Organ) has not found his way home to Ithaca. His faithful and beautiful wife Penelope (played with royal majesty by Tiffany Solano), stays true to her husband, warding off four suitors who would marry her and thus become king of Ithaca. She conjures a trick to keep them at bay. She will marry whoever wins an archery contest, but only after she has finished the burial shroud that she is weaving. Every night she unravels the cloth she wove that day, warding off the suitors for ten years. By this time their son, Telemachus (played brilliantly by Zachary J. Willis) has become a fully-grown man who has never met his father.
After long journeying, Odysseus is beached upon an unknown shore which turns out to be Phaeacia, just a day’s sail to Ithaca. The locals, welcoming a stranger as is tradition in classical Greek times, ask the hero to tell them his story. The theme of welcoming strangers with open arms emerges here as a possibly intentional modern-day theme, given the inflammatory anti-immigration rhetoric of recent years. Another recurring theme is that everyone is welcome here, at the theater, in this creative space, in this city and country we call our home. The variety of races, genders and ages on that stage and in the audience proves the point. Spanish is inserted into segments of the story, and the introductory and closing statements were all in both English and Spanish.
Odysseus goes on to tell the tale of some of his travails, from surviving the Underworld, defeating the multi-headed monster Scylla, and excaping from the sorceress Circe’s island. Aden Jemaneh’s seductive and beautiful Circe made it evident why (although not mentioned in this version of the story) Odysseus fell in love with her and delayed his return home.
There is a chorus billed as Calliopes (Annelise Wall, Stephanie Delgado, Kaylee Killingsworth, Taylor D. Williams) and Singer (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez) who weave a unifying thread through the story. Ramirez, a seasoned actor and talented performer, nailed it as the Singer (who I imagined might be an embodiment of the all-powerful Olympian god Zeus). His stage presence and voice certainly are strong enough to reach every corner of the house. And, truly, this was the case with each and every vocalist. All projected and sang with gusto, with not an off-key note to be heard.
The role of the music cannot be overstated. It drove the action and added a bit of humor. The musical style of the band (Samuel Bagala, Henry Beal, Aaron Sutton, Samuel Walker, and Kami Luján) provided a contemporary beat, while remaining unpredictable. The insertion of two drummers, one on the conga and another on the West African djembe, were surprising yet welcome choices. The featured dance performances, first from a female flamenco dancer and later from an acrobat/contortionist, added an unexpected and beautiful multi-cultural flavor to the atmosphere. Another crowd pleaser was Argos, Odysseus’s loyal dog (played by Lisa Gonzalez), who is almost the first to recognize Odysseus as the disguised “ragged beggar” who comes to the palace door.
As the story goes, Odysseus and his son defeat the suitors who hope to take his place on the throne—and the faithful Penelope finally recognizes her long-lost husband. Here ends the happiest part of The Odyssey (keep going in Homer’s tale, and you’ll find that the returned Odysseus doesn’t stay Mr. Nice Guy)—and the joyful, high-spirited ending got the sold-out house clapping profusely and on its feet.
The production lasted about 90 minutes, yet even with plenty of small children in the house, the audience (many of whom hand-held bouquets of congratulatory flowers for their family and friends in the show) seemed engaged to the end. Hats off to the DTC team for bringing Dallas audiences this uplifting, inclusive, and multiracial experience.
WHEN: This Public Works Dallas show has closed—but keep your eyes open next spring for audition announcements and information about next summer’s show. Want to be onstage in 2023—think about it!
WEB: dallastheatercenter.org
