Review: METAMORPHOSES at Berkshire Theatre Group

Berkshire Theatre Group’s final production of the 2025 Summer Season is METAMORPHOSES.  Based on the myths of Ovid, Mary Zimmerman’s METAMORPHOSES, winner of the Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award nominee, dives headfirst into the thrilling, sometimes terrifying world of Greek and Roman mythology. From King Midas’ golden curse to the heartbreaking journey of Orpheus and Eurydice, these iconic myths are reimagined with bold theatricality and a visually stunning set—featuring a central pool of water where gods descend, lovers vanish, and mortals are forever changed.

Directed by Isadora Wolfe this production is rather unusual and quite unique.  It is physical, poetic and charged with emotional power. Packed with passion, revenge, hubris and heartbreak, METAMORPHOSES is a gripping night of theatre that proves the ancient myths still burn with relevance today.

BTG Artistic Director, Kate Maguire reflecting on her Greek heritage (on her mother’s side) says: “That was my childhood – yes, theatrical, but also steeped in stories of power and wisdom, of revenge and sorrow, of misdeeds and forgiveness.  Superstitions, yes, but also a framework of what is right and wrong, always urging us toward peace and love out of chaos.  There was an acceptance that disruption is part of life, but also the belief that the greatest power of all is love – within ourselves, and in our world.  As we close this summer season of 2025, may we once again seek and find love in our world, before we face any cave like Diros.”

The cast includes:  David Atkins as Silenus, Cinyras, and others; June Carryl as Aphrodite, Baucis, and others; Evelyn Chen as Eurydice, Psyche, and others; Paul Deo Jr. as Orpheus, and others; Gregg Edelman as Midas, Narrator I, Apollo, A, and others; Stephanie Jean Lane as Woman by the Water, Alcyone, Q, and others; Tim Liu as Phaeton; Fedra Ramirez-Olivares as Myrrha and others; Kelli Simpkins as Scientist, Erysichthon, Therapist, and others; John William Watkins as Ceyx, Morpheus, Vertumnus, and others; Sean Wiberg is Swing. 

The Artistic Company includes: Director Isadora Wolfe; Assistant Director Sean Wiberg; Scenic Designer Jason Simms; Costume Designer Amanda Roberge; Lighting Designer Matthew E. Adelson; Composer / Sound Designer Scott Killian; Intimacy Coordinator Evik (Vik) Abbott-Main; Stage Manager Jenn Gallo; Assistant Stage Manager Morgen E. Doyle; Production Assistant Adeline Grimmett; Movement Captain Evelyn Chen; CSA Casting Director Kelly Gillespie; Casting Director Caparelliotis Casting; and Rehearsal Assistant Alex Boyd.

Director, Isadora Wolfe points out that shortly after Ovid wrote “Metamorphoses” the epic poem that chronicled the history of the world through Greek myths, a major shift took place bringing about the Gladiators and fighting to the death in arenas “at the same time that poets and thinkers attempted to transcend their times through philosophy, poetry and spirituality.  993 years later, in 2001 Mary Zimmerman’s METAMORPHOSES was in rehearsal in New York City when the World Trade Center fell and again the world was changed.  She states: “now in 2025, we find ourselves in a period that is marked by “unprecedented” events.  So many of us have felt helpless.  We turn again to the Greek myths.  Perhaps there is a comfort in these ancient tales, told through Zimmerman’s lens.  We see ourselves.  We see all things that make us human: greed, devotion, violence, vulnerability, domination, love.  Maybe it is through these stories seeing mortals and gods alike grappling with this volatile mixture of parts, that we find the belief that yet again we will survive.  As they did.