Black Odyssey at CSC

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 11:43am

Curious to hear from anyone else that has seen this but I was really pleasantly surprised by this!  Sometimes when there's reimaginings like this (especially with such a ubiquitous story as the Odyssey), there can be really interesting ideas but some parts still fit together kind of clunkily.  And I think there are some moments that could still be polished in this, but a lot of the script was quite clever and drew really interesting parallels.  There was also a great use of music and having it done in such an intimate theater really made it all better.  I might try to snag a rush ticket to go again after opening just to see if they've changed anything (apparently Marcus Garvey updates the show to be relevant to whatever city it's being produced in).

[JoeW4]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 1:56pm

I saw it and liked it - agree with most of what you said. I posted more thoughts here 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 2:00pm

Oh interesting, not sure if I just totally missed it but I did not realize he was undergoing brain surgery, but that definitely adds another layer to it

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 3:04pm

SO happy to hear this, I'm hoping to grab a ticket for next week!

 

And I did !

Updated On: 2/17/23 at 03:04 PM

[Theater3232]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 11:59pm

(mild spoilers) Sadly, CSC no longer hands out a playbill, so it was hard for me to follow along who was who. Lots of Greek mythology names were being rattled off at a really fast pace at the beginning so I couldn't keep up. I found it confusing to follow the plot, as it appeared to take place in Greek mythology time and also in modern-day time, but I wasn't really sure? There were certainly some present-day scenes like when they mentioned the name Trayvon & you saw police officers in certain situations. But I was confused how this related to the other scenes? It appears lots of Show-Score reviewers were similarly confused like I was. A better director could have made it clearer for the audience to follow if these were two different time periods? If it was all modern-day, they could have made it more accessible to follow by mentioning Harlem streets & landmarks. The one highlight for me was the two women (and one man dressed in drag) in those snazzy blue dresses singing Supremes songs in Act II; they had great voices & I wish the rest of the show had such fun energy. But mostly, I found it an overlong 2 hours 40 minutes that needed serious trimming & clarification of the plot.

[JoeW4]

Posted: 2/18/23 at 12:29am

Theater3232 said: "(mild spoilers) Sadly, CSC no longer hands out a playbill, so it was hard for me to follow along who was who. Lots of Greek mythology names were being rattled off at a really fast pace at the beginning so I couldn't keep up. I found it confusing to follow the plot, as it appeared to take place in Greek mythology time and also in modern-day time, but I wasn't really sure? There were certainly some present-day scenes like when they mentioned the name Trayvon & you saw police officers in certain situations. But I was confused how this related to the other scenes? It appears lots of Show-Score reviewers were similarly confused like I was. A better director could have made it clearer for the audience to follow if these were two different time periods? If it was all modern-day, they could have made it more accessible to follow by mentioning Harlem streets & landmarks. The one highlight for me was the two women (and one man dressed in drag) in those snazzy blue dresses singing Supremes songs in Act II; they had great voices & I wish the rest of the show had such fun energy. But mostly, I found it an overlong 2 hours 40 minutes that needed serious trimming & clarification of the plot."

Some of this I agree with - it was hard to follow at times. But I do think I can answer your question as to the time period: I don't think there's any doubt it's supposed to take place in modern day. And in fact, when I saw the 1st preview, they DID in fact mention the sames of Harlem landmarks and streets, such as the Apollo theatre - has that been cut?

But either way, I don't think ANY of it was really takes place in ancient Greek times; it's just that it's transplanting the characters from that time, into modern day, while preserving certain stylistic and mythological elements in the way it's told.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/18/23 at 1:08am

My impression was that the Greek gods are still "alive and well" today as they were in Ancient Greece, but like JoeW4 said, the main action is definitely meant to be in modern-day Harlem (I thought the intro to the gods with the Apollo Theater was quite clever). The rest of it I took to be that Ulysses wasn't as much taking a physical journey home as it was a mental one. Part of his struggle is how he reconciles what he's done with whether he "deserves" to go home, but in coming to terms with that he goes through a journey of his history (the idea of family and roots is also a big one) and of African American history overall, which helps him understand the values/culture he shares with the rest of the community. It probably could've used more focus and maybe a different director could have scoped out the different time periods better, but I think the blurred lines between the different events also made it quite fascinating (the scenes on top of the roof during a flood were at once perplexing and quite poignant to me).

[dennisferrari769]

Posted: 3/14/23 at 8:42am

chrishuyen said: "Curious to hear from anyone else that has seen this but I was really pleasantly surprised by this! Sometimes when there's reimaginings like this (especially with such a ubiquitous story as the Odyssey), there can be really interesting ideas but some parts still fit together kind of clunkily. And I think there are some moments that could still be polished in this, but a lot of the script was quite clever and drew really interesting parallels. For example, in search of inspiration, I have checked sites where students wrote about the odyssey, and I want to say that I found great ideas. There was also a great use of music and having it done in such an intimate theater really made it all better. I might try to snag a rush ticket to go again after opening just to see if they've changed anything (apparently Marcus Garvey updates the show to be relevant to whatever city it's being produced in)."

I agree. Not without flaws, but overall I liked it. Brilliant combo of the Odyssey and the African-American experience. Shows the universality of Greek myth--stories relevant after 2000 years.

Updated On: 3/26/23 at 08:42 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/14/23 at 9:16am

Oy, I can't believe I never added my thoughts when I saw this several weeks ago!   I really enjoyed this, I actually teach The Odyssey, so a real treat for me to see such a unique take on it.  I'm not sure my students would agree, but I had a terrific experience.

 

No, not without flaws, but really worth the trip downtown.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 12:29pm

Selling a ticket to this coming Saturday's (3/25) 7pm show. Row A of the 200's (center section), member price $39, and I have the e-ticket to forward. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 12:39pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Selling a ticket to this coming Saturday's (3/25) 7pm show. Row A of the 200's (center section), member price $39, and I have the e-ticket to forward."

Bump

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/24/23 at 10:46am

TaffyDavenport said: "Selling a ticket to this coming Saturday's (3/25) 7pm show. Row A of the 200's (center section), member price $39, and I have the e-ticket to forward."

$30, anyone?