Medea Archives - TheaterScene.net

Medea

Medea (Fusion Theatre)

March 19, 2024

This production could be more balanced in the performances, with some characters being solidly played and others being line-readings lacking body movements that add to the dialogue. There are also changes to how the story is told. A number of passages have been removed that are important in establishing Medea's state of mind and exploring her internal struggle over how she will punish Jason for his betrayal. In addition to the revisions to some of Medea’s dialogue, the changes in the responses from the three women of the chorus are impactful. The chorus' purpose is to fill in gaps in the story and to clarify the thought processes being exposed by various characters. While the overall thrust of the story has not been altered, some of the nuances of the characters' behaviors have been lost. [more]

Medea (Brooklyn Academy of Music)

February 9, 2020

While Simon Stone’s adaptation is engrossing for its surprising updates, it never captures the emotions, seeming more like a gimmick that a reworking of the Greek tragedy. With most of the actors underplaying their roles, the emotional temperature never really heats up even when the audience is confronted with various horrors. The use of the video screen and the all-white set somewhat distances the audience from the events on stage which undercuts the tragedy unfolding. Don’t blame Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, who have given much more impassioned performances elsewhere, as they seem to be pawns of Stone’s concept. [more]

Mojada

August 4, 2019

Following up on Luis Alfaro’s critically acclaimed Chicano retelling of Sophocles’ "Oedipus Rex" called "Oedipus El Rey," The Public Theater now stages his equally relevant and timely "Mojada" which melds Euripides’ "Medea" with the Latinx immigrant experience in the big American cities. Those who know the Greek myth of Jason and Medea will be prepared; those who at the performance under review obviously did not know what was coming were shocked and horrified by the ending. Either way the play is spellbinding theater. Chay Yew, artistic director of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater who also directed the Public’ production of Oedipus El Rey, has staged the stunning and devastating play with an excellent cast of Hispanic-American actors which is as timely as tomorrow’s headlines. [more]