Last evening I went to see Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. You can read more about playwright Zimmerman in my column in this week’s issue here, and you’ll probably figure out that this is one of my favorite scripts. CCM’s drama program has created a shimmering, playful production that’s getting a brief run (final performance is a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday) at Patricia Corbett Theatre.
Guest director D. Lynn Meyers took a break from Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati to travel up the hill and stage this one on the UC campus, and her cast of 18 student performers wholly embraced this unusual show — which requires a pool of water as its central design feature. (Water plays a significant and meaningful role in the retelling of a set of classical myths shaped and recorded by Ovid two millennia ago.) But Dana Hall’s scenic design doesn’t stop with water; it’s elemental, with immense hanging slabs of stone that resonate with the decorative concrete slabs in PCT. Wes Richter’s lighting — it really does shimmer — enhances the stories of characters changed by circumstances, good intentions and bad decisions, and Kevin Semancik’s sound design brings vivid punctuation to many stories, including a destructive storm at sea.
Speaking of sound, cellist Jacob Yates, a senior at CCM, composed moody accompaniment that distills the moving emotional essence of each scene; he performs live from stage left as the tales unfold. Amanda Kai Newman’s costume designs complete the visual power of the show, whether they are fluttering around the edge of the pool or from a high balcony upstage from which the gods watch and control the mortals — and even when they are sopping wet from action in the variable-depth pool. Much of the action is beautifully choreographed and delivered with confident physicality. All in all, CCM’s Metamorphoses is a total theatrical package that’s definitely worth seeing. Tickets are likely available if you call quickly: 513-556-4183..
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2014.
