By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
Orestes (Hunter Hnat) and Electra (Bryn Booth) share a fine moment in The Rogue Theatre's streaming of "The Oresteia."
A swooping conclusion grows from a new visit to one of society's oldest problems in the Rogue Theatre's precise production of Ellen McLaughlin's fresh depiction drawn from the classic Greek theater trilogy, “The Oresteia.”
The Rogue is continuing its COVID-19 practice of professionally filming productions using masked actors maintaining social distance performing in costumes to a pre-recorded dialogue soundtrack on the company's stage set. “The Oresteia” is streaming through Jan. 31. Tickets are available online.
Inspired by our own nation's seeming addiction to endlessly sad cycles of revenge and violence in recent years, McLaughlin found within this ancient blend of cunning gods and crafty humans the seed of hope that could prevent civilization from destroying itself in waves of wanton rage.
Not only is it important to know your enemy, she reasons, but also to understand your enemy. Perhaps to the point of being a bit sympathetic. How else can an enduring peace be won if there is no discovery of some mutual feelings on both sides?
“The Oresteia” is essentially a history lesson, so valued for its insight the lesson has also become the oldest known theater work in Western culture. Here we are led through the series of murders that plagued the House of Atreus, where Queen Clytemnestra (Julia Balestracci) is in charge while waiting the return to Athens of her husband King Agamemnon (Aaron Shand) from the army's victorious war against Troy.
As Clytemnestra takes us through these daunting troubles, including the endless housework in such a big place, we learn what she is really waiting for is a chance to murder her husband the king, a deed that she feels is completely justified.
In the mid-2020-teen-years, before Donald Trump's election as President, McLaughlin was commissioned to freely re-fresh this ancient trilogy, also re-shaping it as a singular work for a singular cast, traveling a singular emotional arc without any interruptions. So she did exactly that.
While the Rogue's production does include a pause for intermission, there are no breaks to artificially separate the traditional trilogy's three separate plays – “Agamemnon,” “The Libation Bearers” and “The Eumenides,”
Those who have a deep personal interest in classical Greek theater (you know who you are) will find much to savor in McLaughlin's modernist interpretation. This isn't anything close to Eugene O'Neil's reimagining of the original Greek work in his own “Mourning Becomes Electra,” but some of our more familiar English phrases do slip into the speeches McLaughlin has fashioned.
The playwright also likes to de-mystify the actions of those Greek gods, describing them less as genuine celestial forces and more as the creations of these humans in Athens, first by having the humans believe they know what the gods will do, and then having the humans act as if the gods actually have done those things.
Joseph McGrath as director maintains a kind of formality among the cast members. They aren't portraying specific, downhome people so much as representing larger forces of nature at work in civilization.
Balestracci's presence as Queen Clytemnestra is rock solid. Hunter Hnat as Orestes and Bryn Booth as Cassandra make the final scene their own. Their responsibility is to depict the first realizations of humanity's concept of justice, the hammer that will break the self-destructive cycle of revenge.
Completing the cast with strong performances in this ensemble effort are Nicole Delprete (Cassandra) and Iphigenia (Sol Murgia). Equally historic is the Greek chorus, the very one that gave this theatrical gambit its name.
The group playing the role this time includes Rosanne Couston, Shannon Elias, Lance Guzman, Callie Hutchison, Cynthia Meier and Dennis O'Dell.
As these COVID productions become more like films, the music score becomes more influential. Russell Ronnebaum is the composer and conductor for “The Oresteia.”
For additional historical background and details on streaming the fully enhanced video version at any time through Jan. 31, visit theroguetheatre.org or call 520-344-8715 for administrative questions, 520-551-2053 for the ticket line. Tickets are $42, students $15.
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