Comments on: Ion http://dctheatrescene.com/2009/03/19/ion-2/ Washington DC's Liveliest Theater Website Fri, 25 May 2012 18:28:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: rudy http://dctheatrescene.com/2009/03/19/ion-2/comment-page-1/#comment-8205 rudy Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:16:44 +0000 http://dctheatrescene.com/?p=4992#comment-8205 Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This staging was horrible. It was so egregiously campy that it teetered well beyond farce into self-parody. It was as if the director had missed the entire point of the play. The actors were badly abused by the mis-direction. It was all too obvious that the new translation was done by someone who does not speak the original language, Greek. The only audience members clapping (and, unfortunately, giggling inappropriately throughout) were the fourteen year old girls. Poor Creusa was forced to clomp around stage barefoot exposing stumpy white cankles that upstaged her overwrought histrionics. Aubrey Deeker succumbed to his most mincing evil queen mannerisms. Floyd King faxed in his performance. The chorus appeared to be having fun chewing the scenery but the audience was left out of their over-the-top merriment by their baffling characterizations. Unfortunately, this production was on the level of a high school production of "Zanadu". Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This staging was horrible. It was so egregiously campy that it teetered well beyond farce into self-parody. It was as if the director had missed the entire point of the play. The actors were badly abused by the mis-direction.

It was all too obvious that the new translation was done by someone who does not speak the original language, Greek. The only audience members clapping (and, unfortunately, giggling inappropriately throughout) were the fourteen year old girls. Poor Creusa was forced to clomp around stage barefoot exposing stumpy white cankles that upstaged her overwrought histrionics. Aubrey Deeker succumbed to his most mincing evil queen mannerisms. Floyd King faxed in his performance. The chorus appeared to be having fun chewing the scenery but the audience was left out of their over-the-top merriment by their baffling characterizations. Unfortunately, this production was on the level of a high school production of “Zanadu”.

]]> By: Larry Lesser http://dctheatrescene.com/2009/03/19/ion-2/comment-page-1/#comment-7730 Larry Lesser Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:10:14 +0000 http://dctheatrescene.com/?p=4992#comment-7730 Tim Treanor -- I'm one of your admirers but was disappointed in the Synetic Theatre's Dante which you praised highly. No doubt the production was brilliant in many ways and unlike anything else around but don't you think it would have been better still at about half the length? So much darkness. So much writhing. So much loud dissonance. Altogether too much. But more seriously what a disagreeable intellectual theme. Practically everything we do and everyone is roundly condemned -- to eternal torture. Feh I say. This may not be the fault of Paata Tsikurishvili; I blame Dante. (Anyway it's a relief not to have to blame Bush my usual target.) Unhappy man; I can do without his rant. -- Lesser Tim Treanor — I’m one of your admirers but was disappointed in the Synetic Theatre’s Dante which you praised highly. No doubt the production was brilliant in many ways and unlike anything else around but don’t you think it would have been better still at about half the length? So much darkness. So much writhing. So much loud dissonance. Altogether too much.
But more seriously what a disagreeable intellectual theme. Practically everything we do and everyone is roundly condemned — to eternal torture. Feh I say. This may not be the fault of Paata Tsikurishvili; I blame Dante. (Anyway it’s a relief not to have to blame Bush my usual target.) Unhappy man; I can do without his rant.
— Lesser

]]> By: Paula Y. Bickham http://dctheatrescene.com/2009/03/19/ion-2/comment-page-1/#comment-7728 Paula Y. Bickham Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:06:16 +0000 http://dctheatrescene.com/?p=4992#comment-7728 A nice piece, overall. Really liked the use of puppetry and the birds. It took a little while to get used to the Chorus but I really grew to enjoy them - beautiful voices, though! The song at the end had that "Up with People" kinda flair. Thought Lisa Harrow was quite expressive in her role. A nice piece, overall. Really liked the use of puppetry and the birds. It took a little while to get used to the Chorus but I really grew to enjoy them – beautiful voices, though! The song at the end had that “Up with People” kinda flair. Thought Lisa Harrow was quite expressive in her role.

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