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There is always an extreme gender discrepancy in theater, with the number of men titanically dwarfed by the number of women. Hint.
This can create a casting problem, because so many stories are set in our rather male-dominated world. This is why it is so gratifying to see something as ballsy as an all-female cast in Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses.”
And not just any women. A lot of women.
A total of 16 women fill out the cast and portray more than 50 characters of both genders from 10 different classical Greek myths vaguely strung together. The casting works fantastically, giving the show a feeling of spouting Delphic oracles.
If you are an avid Ovid reader and fan of mythology, this should excite you. If you aren’t familiar with the stories, you should be excited to see something so classic and human and yet totally new. But ultimately, it doesn’t really matter — you should be excited because the show is really damn good.
And of course, because it’s Greek, you get your token tickling of incest. But it’s classy incest. Really.
Shows at UNM directed by faculty members always manage to be some the best theater in town, thanks to large budgets, experienced directors and armies upon armies of technical theater students separated by department, hungry for experience and education.
Acting can unfortunately be a bit of a pitfall, exhibiting the best and most talented of the department, as well as giving the young or inexperienced opportunities to take risks in a comfortable environment.
This is not the case in “Metamorphoses.”
There really are no weak links, in terms of acting. There is certainly a degree of style and ability throughout the entire group, with Jasmine Bernard and Alex Pina being some of the best.
Andee Schray is superb as a livid physical manifestation of Hunger and the perfect aloof wood nymph.
Some actors display more strength in physicality and movement than in the delivery of lines, and vice versa, with even fewer handling everything well, but Jessica Pabinquit does it all. Pabinquit begins the show with a powerful voice and presence and later gets a series of shatteringly beautiful moments as Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus.
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None, however, is quite as good as Carly Moses. She exhibits complete control of even the finest movements. She plays the best men by far, giving the tragic sea captain Ceyx undeniable masculinity without falling to stereotype. Her Charlie Chaplin-level understanding of physical comedy is a sight to behold. She additionally possesses the rare ability to make each and every one of her lines funny — even the throwaway ones. Moses will go far.
Director Joe Aberti has created a show strung together through a series of tiny, profound moments. These moments are simple and elegant and thoroughly satisfying. The silhouette work is excellent, but some moments just sing louder than others: the wriggling hands sprouting from the river Styx, where each pair is distinctly different from the last; the billowy clothes of one woman or another being stripped away to bathe or for a lusty dream; a stoic, statuesque father as stiff and lifeless a fantasy as cruelty will allow. Even the shadow puppet show, probably the simplest story of all, is positively sublime.
The gods and devil are all in the details: Midas’ gold jump rope, the mirrors in the rippling water, Hermes’ binding funeral wrap, the haunting disquiet of Casey Mráz’s live and original music, a shared smell of apples. Each selection is subtle and reflective of the audience. “Dreams are private myths,” you are told at one point, and verily, the play seems like a dream of your very own.
The real Greek tragedy of the situation is the short running times of UNM’s productions. With the opening week gone, there is only a single weekend left. So, really, you owe it to yourself to give this show a shot. If you don’t, it’s completely possible the gods may do something shockingly brutal to you. They’re into that sort of thing.
Metamorphoses
based on the myths of Ovid
written by Mary Zimmerman
Directed by Joe Alberti
UNM’s Experimental Theatre (Theatre X)
Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
Runs through Oct. 7
Students and staff, $10
Faculty and seniors, $12
General admission $15
For tickets and reservations, call (505) 925-5858
visit unmtickets.com
or follow the QR code.
