Swords and words clash, and armor clatters, in a vibrant retelling of a famous ancient story. An Iliad, produced by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, launches headfirst into Homer’s epic poem, “The Iliad.” In the hands of Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, what transpires is a severely condensed version of the epic poem.
This version is told by a 3,000-year-old storyteller. For some reason, he is instructed (perhaps by Greek gods) to re-tell the tale over and over until mankind gets the hint that war isn’t the answer – for anything.
The storyteller recounts the endless feuding that ruined Troy and kept Greeks away from home for nine years. Sometimes the Poet speaks Greek. At other times, he takes on a more contemporary, casual tone. At one point, he compares the soldiers’ inner thoughts to those of frustrated people standing in a grocery-store line. Through his eyes, we see Homer and Achilles, and all their related family members who must deal with war’s aftermath. It is not pretty.
This tour-de-force requires an actor capable of impersonating dozens of people involved in the story, as well as the ability to step outside of the story. Thankfully, Milwaukee audiences are in good hands. James DeVita, one of area’s the most talented, versatile and accomplished local actors, takes on this challenge. It may sound like a cliché, but to watch him onstage is to see poetry in motion. He dazzles the audience for nearly two hours.
The only other person onstage (although she’s really a bit ethereal, hovering overhead and appearing and disappearing behind a scrim), is a cellist who serves as the poet’s muse. Sometimes the cellist accompanies the poet’s tale, adding dramatic tension. At other times, her playing almost mocks the poet – wordlessly, of course. The poet is not afraid of scaring her away by giving her occasional dirty looks.
As adept as the storyteller is at chronicling the events of the Trojan Wars, his own history is mostly left to the imagination. He is disheveled and dirty, almost like a hobo who was just ejected from a moving train. He carries a battered suitcase. He seems world-weary and seems reluctant to start his tale. He hems and haws, glancing about the stage, nonplussed by the debris piled around him. The stage looks as if a bomb has just exploded; perhaps the view of destruction is familiar to the Poet. A small mound of bricks, rocks, parts of furniture and pipes against one wall allows DeVita to climb up on it. He looks around, and sighs. “It’s so much easier to talk about these things in a bar,” he says.
The Rep’s magnificent, apocalyptic set is revealed by equally breathtaking lighting. The interplay of light and shadow create almost a den-like atmosphere that seems to bring the large theater into a more intimate scale.
Staging this modern adaptation is not for the faint of heart. An Iliad played a limited Off-Broadway run in 2012, produced by New York Theater Workshop. Afterwards, Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater mounted a production, as well as Chicago’s Court Theater. Kudos, then, to the Milwaukee Rep for tackling this tricky piece of theater, and turning it into one of the most memorable shows of this season.
