rena Stage's contribution to the "Greek Invasion" during this season of the classics in Washington, D.C., is the world premiere of an intriguing Agamemnon and His Daughters. Kenneth Cavender provides a colloquial and intelligible adaptation of six plays by Euripides, Aischylos, and Sophokles (the program utilizes the Greek spellings) into a marathon three hours of theater. Artistic Director Molly Smith produces a sort of glossy, PBS-style Cliff Notes abridgement of the 2,500-years-old, twenty-years saga of the rulers of Argos, which reinforces the truth that being a royal Greek could prove a royally bloody business. Even if you were an innocent young woman, such as Iphigeneia (the fresh-faced Marta Ann Lastufka), you stood no chance against the fates, if your sacrifice was required by your father to launch the Trojan War. Agamemnon's lack of paternal feeling not withstanding, the strapping, barrel-chested Jack Willis plays him less as warrior than good-natured buffoon.
As his wife Klytaimestra, Gail Grate is a magnificent and cunning avenger of her daughter's death, proudly displaying her bloodied hands after slaughtering her husband after his return from the wars. When she slyly reaches behind her kneeling son (Orestes, played rather flatly by the handsome Paolo Andino) for the sword he dropped, when he falters in his resolve to avenge his father, the audience gasps, "Oh, no." As the spirited Electra, Natascia Diaz, dressed in rags, eyes ringed with dark shadows, confides her perpetual grief for her father in sister Chrysothemis (Maia DeSanti), as she spins spider like in a curious sort of cage provided by set and lighting designer Pavel Dobrusky. Ezra Knight makes a striking, righteous Achilles, falling for the heroic Iphigeneia, although unable to dissuade her from sacrificing herself for her country. Director Smith presents him as a rock star of antiquity, sending the Greek Chorus of women (some of Washington's strongest actresses, including Paula Gruskiewicz, Rosemary Knower and Rebecca Rice) into frenzied titters as they grab for the souvenir bracelet he tosses into their midst.
In keeping with the patchwork of the dramaturgy, the costume designs by Lindsay W. Davis are eclectic. There are traditional robes for the chorus, colorful brocade for Kassandra (Tsidii LeLoka, The Lion King), the phophetess doomed not to be believed, and white fur for Iphigeneia, in her incarnation as priestess at Tauris after she is saved by the powerful goddess Artemis (Naomi Jacobson), who substitutes a deer on the sacrificial altar. Sound Design and original Middle Eastern-style score by Fabian Obispo enrich the storytelling. All's well that ends well in the last act as Artemis gathers in both the living and the dead of the clan for a dose of compassion and reconciliation. Too bad we can't find a cabinet post for her here in the nation's capitol.
