Washington University Performing Arts Department to Present METAMORPHOSES 4/23 - 5/2

"The myth is a public dream."

So argues playwright Mary Zimmerman in Metamorphoses, her hypnotic, Tony Award-winning adaptation of myths by the Roman poet Ovid.

In April and May, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present Metamorphoses, perhaps the most acclaimed theatrical work of the last decade, as its spring Mainstage production.

Performances will take place in the university's Edison Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25. Performances will then continue the following weekend, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2.

Edison Theatre is located in the Mallinckrodt Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. Tickets are $15, or $10 for children, students, seniors and Washington University faculty and staff. Tickets are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, (314) 935-6543, and through all MetroTix outlets.

For more information, call (314) 935-6543 or visit http://padarts.wustl.edu/

Based on translations of Ovid by David Slavitt, Metamorphoses weaves 10 classical Roman tales into a visually spectacular yet decidedly low-tech evening of theater.

"Metamorphoses is predicated almost entirely on the things that theater - and theatre alone - does best," says Henry I. Schvey, Ph.D., professor of drama, who directs the cast of 12. "It's filled with gorgeous, unforgettable images, but it also allows the audience to use its own imagination. There's a real fusion of movement, image and speech."

Central to that fusion is the bold set design, which largely consists of a 15-ton pool installed on the Edison stage.

"The play explores ideas of change and transformation, all of which take place through the conduit of water," Schvey explains. "So in a way, this apparently complex set is very simple: a pool, a doorway entrance, a platform for the gods, and a chandelier representing the heavens above.

"Each myth is staged individually, and there's a kind of postmodern aspect, as the play moves in and out of time," Schvey continues. "Some stories are set in modern dress, others in togas. King Midas is revealed as an ordinary businessman. Zeus' thunder bolt may be symbolized by a glowing cigarette.

"Zimmerman connects these ancient tales with the ways people still behave today."

Individual scenes range from the familiar (Orpheus and Eurydice, Phaeton and Apollo, Eros and Psyche) to the less well-known (Vertumnus and Pomona; Alcyone and Ceyx; King Cinyras and his daughter, Myrrha).

"Metamorphoses does not provide a conventional theatrical experience, although there is certainly thematic unity," Schvey points out. "Each myth explores some aspect of love - whether it's Midas's love of money, Orpheus' attempt to bring back his love from Hades, the spiritual union of Cupid and Psyche, or the selfless generosity of an elderly couple [Philemon and Baucis] who share their humble meal with Zeus and Hermes, who come disguised as beggars."

"And there is a narrative arc," Schvey adds. "The stories gradually move from love of self to love of others and finally to a sense of transcendence and cosmic change in the universe."

The cast is comprised of six male and six female actors, all of whom portray multiple characters.

"There are approximately 60 parts in Metamorphoses, so everyone takes on at least five or six roles," Schvey notes. "Everyone plays at least one god and narrates at least one scene, which provides a kind of fluidity and balance among the various myths."

Other roles are distinctly non-verbal, with actors portraying trees or abstractions like Hunger, or combining to form the dark cave where Sleep resides.

"The world of Metamorphoses is a world that is magically changing," Schvey concludes. "Everything is given life through the physical abilities of the actors and through the willing-and creative-participation of the audience."

Cast members include: Gadi Abramowitz, Marissa Barnathan, Kate Healy, Micah Herstand, Sam King, Artem Kreimer, Megan Lacerenza, Jonathan Levinson, Maryse Pearce, Amanda Spector, Dan Tobin and Sally Wippman.

Sets and costumes are by Michael Loui, the PAD's scene shop foreman, and Bonnie Kruger, senior lecturer and costume director, respectively. Choreography is by Cecil Slaughter, senior lecturer in the PAD's Dance Program. Lighting and sound are by lecturers Sean Savoie and Tim Albert.

In conjunction with the production, Zimmerman will deliver Washington University's annual Women's Society Lecture at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 21, in Graham Chapel.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, is titled "Bodies I Have in Mind: Adapting Ancient Texts for the Stage" and is presented as part of the university's Assembly Series. It also serves as the PAD's 2010 Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture, which previously has brought to campus such notables as Jane Lapotaire and Zoe Caldwell.

For more information about the Assembly Series, visit assemblyseries.wustl.edu or call (314) 935-4620.