Every play begins on the page. Words become actions, speeches, big moments, and small ones. Without the words, there is no play. Without the writer, there is nothing for the director, the actors, and the craftspeople behind the scenes. Taproot’s opening production of their 35th season demonstrates the power of the playwright this month.
Taproot’s production of The Odyssey uses Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of Robert Fitzgerald’s lyrical translation of Homer (previously seen at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2000).
Zimmerman’s own lively touches make this an exceptional script. Listen to Odysseus’s constant revamping of how long he was at sea after leaving Calypso’s island. The story keeps changing, illustrating with neat little verbal jabs that this is a man who lies as easily as he breathes (an admirable skill if you want to survive a ten-year journey home).
Springing off Taproot Theatre’s stage and racing through the aisles, the company’s usual fine ensemble of fine actors bring Homer’s gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters to life in a playwright‐approved shortened version of Zimmerman’s original.
Mark Chamberlin leads the cast as an admirably sea-worn Odysseus, battered by the tides of time and fate.
Scenic designer Richard Lorig, costume designer Sarah Burch Gordon, lighting designer Brian Engel, and sound designer Mark Lund make the most of the space, letting the action move seamlessly from various palaces to ships tossed on the wine-dark sea..
You have until March 5 to catch The Odyssey in Greenwood.
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