Posted on: Saturday, February 19, 2005
DRAMA REVIEW
'Odyssey' packed with action, energy
By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Special to The Advertiser
The University of Hawai'i is presenting an adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" that is suitable for children in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre this weekend. The script, by Gregory Falls and Kurt Beattie, traces the adventures of Greek hero Odysseus on his way home from the Trojan War, making it accessible to youngsters, but interesting for adults as well.
Coco Wiel Listen also for the unusual take on character names, where "PeNELoh-pee" becomes "Pee-nelOHpee." It gives a sense of distance and implied scholastic snobbery.
But there is not much else with an elevated tone. Action is direct and sometimes almost slapstick.
Frank Katasse plays the adventuring Odysseus, with Noelle Poole as his patient wife, Penelope. Everyone else plays at least two parts, while Andrew Valentine takes on six, the principal being the steadfast son Telemachus. This makes for a rambling 50-minute show where the doubling up creates lots of fun.
• When: 4 and 7 p.m. today and 2 p.m. tomorrow • Where: Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, University of Hawai'i-Manoa • Tickets: $10 general; $8 seniors, military, UH faculty and staff, students; $3 UH-Manoa students. Suggested for those 8 years old and older • Call: 956-7655 Alfred Gonzales Jr. gets the plum role of Cyclops, wearing floppy fingers and a monstrous puppet head with a single eye that flips from blue to red when blinded by the sailors.
Katie Brauer has a nice bit at the enchantress Circe, who turns men into pigs with her special potions. Among his half-dozen roles, Valentine gets the show's most beautiful costume as the gold and silver clad Aeolous, King of the Winds.
Director Wiel proves you don't have to go high-tech to get charming technical effects. She uses shadows on a rear screen very effectively and transforms the sailors by having them drink deep into an oversize wine cup and come up wearing pigs' masks.
Not all of the effects work as well, since the smoke machine has most of the audience fanning their programs to clear away the acrid fumes.
Scenic designer Angela Price builds a raked platform with pillars to give the action a classic tone and frames the stage opening with oversized masks of several of the characters that appear in the show.
Consequently, "The Odyssey" packs a lot of action, color, and visual effects into its short one-act. With a few added crib notes, it also tells a fair story of adventure.
It's a colorful, shorthand version of the tale that works as a visual synopsis for those who know the story, but will probably require some color commentary for those seeing it cold for the first time. Director Colette "Coco" Wiel gives it a playful spin with broad action and simple side comments, while designer Jill Bowen supplies colorful costumes, masks, and puppets.
Frank Katasse plays Greek hero Odysseus and Noelle Poole portrays wife Penelope in "The Odyssey" at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre.
Penelope's suitors, wearing partial masks, also play Odysseus' cowardly boatmen — swaggering one minute and cowering the next, but always pumping out plenty of energy.
'THE ODYSSEY'
