This ensemble acts up a storm
Few things are more exciting in the theater than pure creativity, and so it proves in “The Mysteries†at the Actors’ Gang. Director-adapter Brian Kulick’s exploration of medieval mystery plays (and their antecedents) is wildly inventive, with one bemusing drawback.
The cycle plays of the Middle Ages were religious pageants, acquiring secular tactics upon leaving the church to illuminate the masses. Thus, Act 1 presents Old Testament sagas drawn from the British York, Wakefield and Chester Cycles, closing on the Nativity. Act 2 brings New Testament accounts re-envisioned by 20th century authors Borislav Pekic, Dario Fo and Mikhail Bulgakov, ending with a York Cycle summation.
Kulick commands a full-throttle cast and designers, who demonstrate full-frontal commitment. Richard Hoover creates a striking quadruple-play setting, with some audience members in gallery seating overlooking an arena about which more spectators lounge on pillows. Christal Weatherly’s costumes merge “Northern Exposure†and Wim Wenders, David Robbins’ sound is evocative, and Andrea Housh’s lighting is incredible.
So is the inspired ensemble, with creative doubling. Tom Fitzpatrick’s stentorian God becomes a droll Lazarus, as Gary Kelley’s sardonic Satan morphs into an unconventional yet moving Jesus. Alessandro Mastrobuono and Erin Jellison are utterly fearless as Adam and Eve, and Ken Elliott’s Cain tautly connects with Angela Berliner’s Abel. Robert Dorfman’s tormented Abraham and Eddie Tyclus Robinson’s touching Isaac rivet, and, as the deluged Noah and his spouse, Brent Hinkley and Patti Tippo steal the show.
However, the approach engenders fluctuating sight lines, at times making emotional involvement an article of faith. While I loved spraying the Noahs with the provided water bottle, I would gladly have foresworn this to see more than the back of their house-shaking shenanigans.
This doesn’t diminish the memorable theatricality, and audiences who flocked to Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses†at the Taper will find these “Mysteries†equally rewarding. Perhaps the visibility problem should be considered penance.
*
‘The Mysteries’
Where: Actors’ Gang Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood
When: Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.
Ends: Sept. 28
Price: $20
Contact: (323) 465-0566, Ext. 15
Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
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