I turned to the lady next to me, Greek scholar and co-host of KPBS' "A Way With Words," Martha Barnette, asking for her take on UCSD Professor Dr. Marianna McDonald's very contemporary translation of Sophocles' Antigone. The script is as current as tomorrow, spiced with current slang. Ms. Barnette's comment: extremely good.
Antigone is a social commentary about government dictatorial policies and has had current application every time it's been performed throughout 2,443 years since it was written.
Antigone, daughter of Oedipus (pronounced here with a beginning long E rather than the traditional ED) is truly a product of her father. She wants to bury one of her dead brothers (they killed each other), while Creon, King of Thebes, insists the body be bared to the scavengers of the sky and ground. Her defiance leads to a sentence of death from Creon. Then, as in all Greek tragedies, the plot thickens.
Performed in a black box dressed with a couple of stone benches, two small half walls, and a handful of props at 6th@Penn theater, the power of the play comes through clearly from the excellent cast under the able direction of Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.
Jennifer Eve Krause plays the strong, defiant rebel fighting the state's unjust laws and the dictatorial practices of Creon (Dale Morris). Krause acts and looks the true fighter. We've seen her counterparts in rallies in the seventies as well as today. Antigone's sister, Ismene (Morgan Trant), tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her from burying her brother.
The powerful and most tragic figure is Creon (Dale Morris). Morris moves through his role from unbending arrogant tyrant given to rants as well as cajoling to the final tragic figure he becomes. Morris is master of Creon from the moment he enters the stage. Mark Broadnax, as Haemon, the son of Creon and betrothed to Antigone, plays a masterful balance between obsequious son and defiant lover trying to save his fiancees' life.
We have to wait through most of the play for the appearance of Teiresias, the blind prophet, awesomely played by Sylvia M'Lafi Thompson. She absolutely commands the stage. The Greek Chorus, a mainstay of this genre, is performed by David S. Cohen and Sally Stockton. They comment on the action, at times becoming the only voice of reason in the plot. Laurence Brown is the guard, responsible for bringing the message that Creon's orders were usurped, and the body had been covered. Brown moves his character from strong dominant cop to terror as his death become imminent. Laurie Lehman-Grey (Euryidice and Messenger) and Jolene Hui (Ensemble) round out the cast.
Amanda Stephens' sparse set works extremely well. Jennifer Brawn Gittings' costumes are a mix of elegant wear and street garb. Creon is in a Tux, Euryidice is be-gowned, the chorus simple but elegant. Justin Bieber's lighting is, at times, moody. Claudio Raygoza's sound design brings nice accents to the production.
6th@Penn's production makes this great classic as accessible as any modern play, with the audience becoming an active player in this intimate staging.
