Review
Fragment
Classic Stage Company
March 23, 2006
VanLoan
vanloan@nyconstage.org
Sophocles wrote 120 plays; 7 remain. Euripides wrote 90; 19 remain (most were lost when a fire destroyed the Great Library in Alexandria, Egypt). Yet over 5,000 fragments of their original works have survived through the centuries. Kelly Copper has taken on the role of dramaturge (of sorts) for director Pavol Liska and assembled these fragments into a theatrical presentation. And while these verbal shards make for some fascinating and at times powerful moments; the evening has a scattershot and (no pun intended) fragmented quality.
What is needed is some sort of through line of action. The assembled fragments veer from the horrors of war to the virtues of cake. The innovative Liska has tried to solve this by staging the piece as though it were a cocktail party (ala T. S. Eliot) with the text becoming overheard ‘cocktail chatter’. Much of the time, this works well enough.
The cast goes a long way in making the evening both amusing and commanding. Each performer has developed a distinctive persona as they move and converse amid the audience. Zachary Oberzan is usually a thoughtful meditative type. Juliana Francis plays a classic beauty both elusive and skittish. The evening’s standout performance (and audience favorite) belongs to Tony Torn. He plays both the comic buffoon and concerned citizen/activist with equal parts pathos and outrage. His semi-monologue about debauchery and cake is a show highlight.
The whole endeavor makes for an interesting evening; however like the canapés served, one leaves more bloated than nourished.
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