1993
The Penn Yards 59th Street, NY
Written by Charles L. Mee
Directed by Tina Landau
Presented by En Garde Arts
Performed by Christopher Adams, J. Ed Araiza, Tiffani K. Barbour, William Buddendorf, Jernard Burks, Jennifer Dollard, Ramsey Faragallah, Gregory Gunter, Jen Harmon, Natalie Layne Kidd, Jayne Amelia Larson, Michael Malone, Sonya Martin, Jefferson Mays, Theresa McCarthy, Phaedra Philippoussis, Elizabeth Posella, Frank Raiter, Sharon Scruggs, Brendan Sexton, Steven Skybell, Stephen Speights, Jeffrey Sugarman, Beau Van Donkelaar, Elvin Velez, Jean-loup Wolfman and Stefanie Zadravec.

The romp through the legends of the House of Atreas is a refreshing experience.   -D.J.R. Bruckner,  New York Times 

In the tightly choreographed production, the actors–from  Orestes to the Greek chorus of black-clad nurses-perform in stylized movement that serves the apocalyptic vision well.  An off beat humor has he Greek chorus of nurses turn lounge act by breaking into Leon Russell’s “Superstar.”  – Variety

This is a dark vision of society.  In Mee’s work America is collapsed Greece.  This production staged in front of, on top of, and around the old Hudson River Pier takes the audience through a maze of what is the Atreus family with each generation more conflicted than the next.  Prodded by his sister Electra–Orestes kills their mother, Clytemnestra, because she murdered their father and all the siblings are in a mental hospital.  The play full of hallucinations, takes dialogue from sources such as soap opera digest and serial killers.  A wildly visual, auditory and emotional take on an ancient tale.

(photo Kyle Chepulis)

(photo Kyle Chepulis)