VIEWPOINTS – Apocalyptic summer theater, outdoors: Shakespeare in the Park’s CORIOLANUS & Classical Theatre of Harlem’s THE BACCHAE

One of the many pleasures of living in New York is the opportunity to catch high quality outdoor performances (particularly of classical works) in one of its various outdoor parks, particularly during the summertime. Over the past several weeks, two of these productions – Free Shakespeare in the Park’s Coriolanus and Classical Theatre of Harlem’s new version of The Bacchae, both still strikingly resonant – have coincidentally and ambitiously set themselves in apocalyptic futuristic worlds.

Kate Burton in the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Kate Burton and cast in the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Photo by Joan Marcus.

First we have the Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of the Bard’s Coriolanus (RECOMMENDED), which opened this week at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Contrary to the increasingly downsized stagings of Shakespeare of late, the Public has lavished this Coriolanus, which has been mounted with muscular drive by veteran director Daniel Sullivan, with all the bells and whistles of a big Broadway musical. Indeed, the epic staging convincingly gives off the impression of a “Mad Max” film come to life onstage, complete with a massive cast and spectacular production values. The play tells the story of a well-regarded Roman soldier who turns to politics after triumphing on the battlefield – to tragic results. As the titular war hero, Jonathan Cake crafts a fascinating psychological and physical portrait of a man who is simply out of his depths as a politician, as if a child trapped in a fully grown man’s body. With disarming sensitivity, Mr. Cake captures the character’s befuddlement and unpredictability as he rails and flails against the system (sound familiar?). The rest of the cast does well to make their respective roles their own, particularly the great Kate Burton, who plays Coriolanus’s hard-as-nails mother with commanding intensity.

Jason C. Brown and the cast of Bryan Doerries's new version of Euripides' "The Bacchae", courtesy of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park. Photo by Richard Termine.

Jason C. Brown and the cast of Bryan Doerries’s new version of Euripides’ “The Bacchae”, courtesy of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park. Photo by Richard Termine.

Farther uptown at the open-air Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, I was also able to catch the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s raucous, music- and dance-driven production of The Bacchae  (RECOMMENDED) by Euripides, as adapted by Bryan Doerries. Like the aforementioned Shakespeare in the Park production of Coriolanus, The Bacchae – which recently ended its summer run – was a large-scale endeavor that was also set in a sort of apocalyptic future. The production, which marks the theater company’s 20th anniversary, was notable for Mr. Doerries’ bold yet playfully loose modern translation and a deliciously boisterous central performance by Jason C. Brown as the god Dionysus (the god of wine, sex, and ecstasy), who in this version of the Greek tragedy disguises himself as a rowdy rock star en route to cause havoc on the people of his hometown, who have been prohibited by their conservative leader Pentheus (Dionysus’s cousin) from worshipping the bacchanalian god. Mr. Doerries’ efficiently-plotted adaptation manages to find cheeky humor on its brisk decent into horrific mayhem. However, in the end, the work continues to be a chilling and unfortunately still relevant cautionary tale of the dangers of extremism. Although the performances were uneven, it was a treat – thanks largely to the leadership and passion of director Carl Cofield –  to watch the community come together to successfully collaborate on such an ambitious theatrical undertaking.

 

CORIOLANUS
Off-Broadway, Play
The Public Theater / Free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theatre
2 hours, 40 minutes (with one intermission)
Through August 10

THE BACCHAE
Off-Broadway
The Classical Theatre of Harlem / Richard Rodgers Amphitheater
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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