In Franz Kafka's story, “Metamorphosis,” the hero Gregor wakes up to find he has been turned into a giant cockroach. In Allison Volk's new play, the hero Seymour is turned into a hapless chimpanzee. But where “Metamorphosis” is a tragedy, since Gregor remains trapped by his insect fate, Rite of Seymourgoes for absurdist comedy.
Another big difference between Kafka and Volk: the latter sees some hope in Seymour's simian conversion. His wife Helena (Mary Ellen Schneider), after going through stages of shock and despair, realizes she still loves Seymour (his spirit, anyway) and refuses to give him up.
Volk's other spin on the classic Kafka tale is to blame Seymour's predicament on a nutty, fame-seeking doctor (Bilal Mir), whose "velociraptor" injections have de-evolved Seymour, sending him back in time to caveman days. The doctor, by the way, also has a big lech for Helena.
The slapstick fun in Rite of Seymour derives from a clash of worlds: jungle and city, animal and human. As Helena struggles to keep Seymour from trashing her 1950s apartment, she must also host an important dinner party, not only for her good friends, the Andersons (Jeremy Kinser and Deborah Jensen), but for two snooty rich folk (Lena Gwendolyn Hill and Ryan Siebrasse). The latter, a book publisher, was invited because of his interest in Seymour's poetry, which was written, natch, back in his pre-chimp days.
Robert Paterno is Seymour in this world-premiere play; he throws himself into the role with much gusto, one minute capering around on all fours, the next trying to swing from the chandeliers or pick the nits out of Helena's hair, all that while trying to convey the essence of his thwarted humanity.
