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Regional Reviews: St. Louis An Iliad Also see Richard's review of Mrs. Mannerly
Jerry Vogel, as virtually every principle in the Trojan War, makes it very clear what real vengeance, and real violence, and real guts and glory and remorse are all about in An Iliad, the psychologically lavish one-man play that comes at the end of a months-long dry spell for Upstream Theater. And he forces the question, why not just put one member of Actors' Equity in every school in the country, to tell this story, and others like it? Quite possibly, as a direct result, no school kid would ever pick up a gun in a thoughtless, petty moment again. The narrative does get a little dense here and there in this update of Homer's epic tale translated by Robert Fagles (who died in 2008). Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson also share in the writing credits, which may help to explain the amazing detail at virtually every level of human experience, and the show's most amazing speech (which takes us right up to the present day). But there's so much wrath and anguish and going-over-the-line (when the Greeks try to make their final push into Troy) that all our own little impulses toward bloodlust in everyday life are dwarfed by magnificent, gory history. It may even be our own post-Gutenberg book-learning culture that's led us down this dark path to a strange new kind of ignorance and malleability—because 90 minutes spent on the Trojan War and Achilles and Hector and Helen and Paris recounted in lively spoken word (like some crazy Spaulding Gray monologue) is far more memorable than most anything I ever read about war in a book. Maybe we aren't meant to just read such appalling accounts off the printed page. Maybe they're supposed to be told and re-told in the vicious campfire shadows, or the musty darkness of a drinking hall. It's just a lot more powerful face-to-face, as all the consequences of passion are laid bare. Patrick Siler directs, giving us a performer who resembles a grizzled old rock star, and one who (in fact) is just as powerful as a rock star, himself: finding the broad swaggering drumbeats of war, and the more musical leitmotifs of humanity all along the way, both major and minor. (The actual music of the show is by Upstream Theater's resident accompanist, the splendid Farshid Soltanshahi.) There's also surprisingly effective lighting, and candlelight and incense and even bells to heighten the dream-like quality. But almost immediately Mr. Vogel acknowledges it's all just the parsley on the plate, with a single impatient gesture, compared to the giant steak dinner of a story he's about to set before us when he walks up there on stage. There's a dizzying list of many of the wars of recorded history, which must take a good three or four minutes—or more—to actually recite: wars you never heard of, and wars (and attacks) you wish you'd never heard of. The way Mr. Vogel is able to deliver it rips the spine from everything we ever learned about humanity in school, and gives us a new look at ourselves that's far from flattering. Dazzling, but utterly damning. Still, there are lots of moments where we inadvertently turn around and see the beauty of love and camaraderie and mourning and revelry. It also helps us to understand the compelling nature of war, and how it changes people forever.
Through June 9, 2013, at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 South Grand, about a mile north of I-64. For more information visit them online at www.upstreamtheater.org or call (314) 863-4999. E-mail at upstreamtheater@sbcglobal.net Cast: Jerry Vogel* Composer and Musician: Farshid Soltanshahi Offstage * Denotes member, Actors Equity Association, the professional association of actors and stage managers in the US.
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