Hub Theatre Company’s THE LOVE OF THE NIGHTINGALE (playing
through Nov. 21st) is their most ambitious project to date. The good
news is that director Rebecca Bradshaw has pulled together a crackerjack
ensemble and enlisted an impressive support system behind the scenes.
From Megan Kinneen’s simple but elegant set (a starry
firmament overhanging crossed silk shears which serve as an entryway as well as
a ship’s sails) to Bahar Royaee’s haunting sound design (three musicians on
stage supply sweet music of the spheres or great cracks in the universe by banging
on piano legs or eliciting eerie squeals from a cello) to Tyler Catanella’s otherworldly
undulating, foreboding choreography to Christopher Bocchiaro’s evocative,
shadowy lighting to Jess Rassp’s smart, neoclassical costumes, you can clearly observe
the thought and care which went into Hub’s production.
The myths in Ovid’s METAMORPHOSES inspired playwright
Timberlake Wertenbaker (as well as Shakespeare for his TITUS ANDRONICUS) but
Wertenbaker makes the story resonate for contemporary audiences for its
scathing indictment of war—and
the men who wage it so they can feel “alive.” (The play was written in 1989 but
here we are again in the midst of two declared wars and an amorphous third with
the Islamic State. Why? So the USA
can regain its standing as the most powerful nation in the world?)
Even more resonance leaps off the stage when the villain of
the piece justifies his criminal actions, assuming he, like the gods, is “above
the law.” He can suppress “outsiders” at will and even deny them the right to
speak. He can consume the spoils of war and perpetrate rape with impunity. Then
he will suggest that the woman in question enticed him. Even more damaging is
her self doubt, that she may have caused the rape in some way.
Hub has engaged several organizations (like the Boston Rape
Crisis Center) to speak
after the performance. An insert in the program lists info and phone numbers.
Bravo to Hub for using this opportunity to link theater and community.
Kudos to the actors who make the story crystal clear, even as
they perform a play within the play and even as they reference many an all but
forgotten classical allusion. Lauren Elias and Bridgette Hayes are the two
sisters who fall prey to Jeff Marcus’ conquering “hero”…and who exact horrific
justice as payback. (This is not a play for the squeamish.) Elias gets to play
the righteous victim where Hayes’ transformation takes longer to materialize
but when it does, she’s in her element.
Liz Adams, too, gives a forceful performance as Elias’ world
weary servant, having experienced first hand the destruction invaders wreak. The
males of the chorus become soldiers who keep watch and sailors who handle the
(cleverly devised) rigging and rowing when Elias sets sail for Thrace. Ryan
McPherson is a standout as the kind captain of the ship (and of Elias’ heart).
The females in the chorus, led by a fearsome Aina Adler, become the women of Thrace
who, except for a sympathetic Blyss Cleveland, keep their distance from the
King’s foreign wife.
Every member of the ensemble contributes seamlessly to
Wertenbaker’s remarkable, bone chilling cautionary tale. What’s even more
astounding is that all tickets for all shows are Pay-What-You-Can!
