Review: MEDEA at Classical Theatre Company

If there is one thing John Johnston does well as a director it is casting.  He knows how to pick great actors, and then how to work the show around what they do best. His shows are always chock full of some of the best and brightest stars that Houston has to offer.  MEDEA continues this tradition for the Classical Theatre with an inventive staging of the Euripedes tragedy with a decidedly feminist bent and lighter tone than what you may expect from the Greek tragedy.  There are things he twists or adapts to make MEDEA a bit more modern and accessible, and it shows why his company is so strong and admired in the Houston theater community.  At the heart of this one is an incredible cast who deliver something unique and stunning in an hour and a half.  

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MEDEA always felt more mystical and mythical than ANTIGONE or many of the other nineteen plays that still exist of the more than ninety that Euripides wrote.  The central character is a rumored sorceress, a bloodthirsty tactician, and a name we associate with both madness and female rage.  Playing her or staging her story seems like an epic challenge no matter how you come at the material.  Classical Theatre Company wisely chooses a theatrical approach employing puppets for the children, inserting anachronistic tech, and showcasing modern clothes into the proceedings.  We are always made aware of the stage, but the actors do plumb the depths of real emotions.  Yet the distance of “a show” allows the work to comment more easily on today.  

Sloane Teagle’s gentle-hearted nurse opens the show letting the audience know where we are in the story.  Jason has left Medea for the daughter of the King of the country they are currently residing in.  And it seems she and her two sons are to be exiled after their impending royal nuptials.  She feels betrayed, as she has taken out family before to make Jason a success.  This makes everyone fear her including those closest to her, the woman is already known for a murderous rage.  Sloane sets the tone of the show, and she is earnest as she delivers all the information we need for the proceedings, and even lays out what Medea’s plan for revenge is.  It is not long before Ted Doolittle emerges as an attendant along with Marc Alba and Alan Kim portraying the kids as faceless puppets at the ends of their arms.  All three are excellent additions to the cast making the most of each of their multiple roles here.  

In a surprising move the Greek Chorus is pared down to one singular woman, Lindsay Ehrhardt who is one of Houston’s best comediennes.  She arrives in a voluminous white poof of a dress with a smart phone in hand always ready to “livestream” these inevitable fireworks.  She represents the audience in many ways with our own electronic devices poised for any drama in our own world.  Johnson allows Lindsay to deliver her interactions with comedic flourishes that the actress naturally adapts the script for.  And yet she can also make a quite pointed comment on the state of women in the modern world.  She is effective as the crowd all on her own.  Gabriel Regojo is a likable if not rather dense Jason.  He hardly sees anything coming, but we don’t fault him for any of this.  He’s simply a man defined by power dynamics and a woman that is better at playing games than he is on his own.  

And this brings us to Callina Anderson as the titular Medea.  Callina is always a smart actress, and she mines this mythical lady for something more than simple madness.  No, she finds a way to make her choices as an ultimate strategist even if she is a woman scorned.  She is torn at every step of the way by the evilness of her plan, yet she knows if the wrongs are to be given to justice it all has to happen.  We believe every second of her conflict, and we mourn with her when the final moments arrive.  She relishes the right moments and emotes the terror of realizing what she is capable of at the correct times too.  It is a masterclass in how to bring something epic to life.  She is a force, she is fierce, and she is fiery.  

The technical elements help shape MEDEA.  Ornate doors magically open for her thanks to set designer James V. Thomas, and she looks like a glamorous old Hollywood diva ready for battle courtesy of costume designer Leah Smith who swathes her in angry reds.  Her anger ignites electrical interference with sound effects from Jonathan Harvey and flips the sun to the other side of the sky with lights from Edgar Guajardo.  The puppets of Kalob Martinez and props from Tabitha Bounds make the final act a little less horrific, yet make impressive bloody bundles in the aftermath.  Everything is on point from the design of the show which creates a timeless and mythical setting for the drama.  It is neither our time or there time, but a blend of both.  

In the end that is what Classical Theatre Company’s MEDEA achieves, a pairing of two worlds colliding into a well-crafted stage production.  We hear more than we see thankfully of the horrific acts, and the cast makes sure to tell the tale well.  It always feels like a play, and for that reason we can read a little more into MEDEA.  We can see how women today are perceived when they operate better strategically than men, or when they are simply more attuned than their male counterparts to forces and destiny.  This is not played for storm and stress, but for conversation and perception.  And that is what makes it work.  

MEDEA plays at the Deluxe Theatre located at 3303 Lyons Avenue just Northeast of downtown Houston.  The show plays several evening and matinee performances through September 16th.  Tickets are available at the Classical Theatre website which is linked at our “BUY TICKETS” button below.  

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