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Weekend pick: ‘Metamorphoses’ @ Georgia Shakes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like earth separating from water, the myths of Ovid have settled into themselves with an ethereal, timeless beauty at Georgia Shakespeare.
Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” — first presented last summer in an acclaimed production that won five coveted Suzi Bass Awards — has been reprised for a quick swim in set designer Tim Conley’s luminous 24-foot, onstage pool.
The intermissionless, 90-minute play is a one-of-a-kind evening that pours the ocean-size tales of the ancient gods into a human-scale vessel dripping with love, desire and death. Sometimes all those passions converge into a single image, as when the grieving Queen Alcyone (Park Krausen) and the drowned King Ceyx (Daniel May) are transformed into the birds of the Halycon Days.
This year, actor Brandon J. Dirden has been replaced by Brik Berkes, a marvelous addition to this company of polished, articulate and physically striking performers. In particular, Berkes is terrific as the all-devouring King Erysichthon. Chris Kayser is delightful as the languorous and lugubrious Sleep. And Courtney Patterson makes an awe-inspiring transformation from a regal queen in one scene to a lurching and cadaverous Hunger in the next.
Though there are funny moments to be sure, director Richard Garner’s tone seems more subtle, hushed and melancholy than it did on the first outing. As one character says, “Time can only move in one direction.” In helping us reflect on the joy and despair of the journey, “Metamorphoses” is the most ennobling and evocative show in town. It would be a shame to miss it.
THE 411: Through June 3. $15-$35. Contains nudity and adult situations. Georgia Shakespeare, Conant Performing Arts Center, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-264-0020, www.gashakespeare.org.
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