THEATER REVIEW:The gods’ emotions in UCI play

What do the gods on Mount Olympus have in common with the street people from the dank and dusty underbelly of America’s large cities? Plenty, if you buy into Naomi Iizuka’s “Polaroid Stories.”

This series of dramatic vignettes, now on view in UC Irvine’s Stage 2 Theater, is as powerful a production as you’ll see all year. It’s also among the most disturbing due to its absence of a continual story line.

Drama is dished out in small but pungent doses in director Amanda McRaven’s production, which combines elements of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” and Jim Goldberg’s “Raised by Wolves,” described as a multimedia narrative of life on the street.

Orpheus had his underground; Goldberg had his, and it’s the latter that is represented in set designer Jeanine Nicholas’ grimy abandoned subway platform, set apparently one level below the working rail line, as we hear, periodically, the deafening roar of a train passing overhead. It’s a starkly realistic atmosphere, from the overhead steel beams down to the trash strewn alongside the platform.

The show is divided into two elements — “[Expletive] Up Love Songs” (this is, after all, a family newspaper) as the first act, and the show’s overall title for the second. Both depict mythological figures such as Zeus, Dionysus, Eurydice, and the aforementioned Orpheus as they struggle for emotional fulfillment.

The myriad pieces of dramatic art that constitute the production require instant intensity — characters come together in full flourish, consumed with hunger, passion, love or hate. It’s an exhausting exercise, more a theatrical training ground for serious acting students than a true performance piece.

There are, nevertheless, some individual standouts. Benny Wills reigns supreme as Zeus, among other characters. Nylda Mark is a dynamically fierce Eurydice. Aaron Williams preens splendidly as Narcissus, and Nathan Crocker is a passionate Orpheus.

Other members of this remarkable ensemble are Jessica Matzen, Luis Carazo, Jovoni Lewis, Laura Simms, Camelia Poespowidjojo and Mercedes Manning. They respond vigorously to the choreography of Marissa Moses, who displays a remarkable talent for the blending of bodies in imaginative groupings

The soothing music of Andrew Heringer, composed with Jeff Shuter, and the discordant sound design of Corinne Carillo combine to set an edgy mood that prevails throughout the show. Matthew Stovall’s intensive lighting designs project a graphic sense of reality.

To fully enjoy “Polaroid Stories,” you should be fully up on your Greek mythology. Otherwise, just let the production consume you with its many diverse elements.

IF YOU GO“Polaroid Stories”

WHAT:

WHERE: UC Irvine Stage 2 Theater

WHEN: Closing performances at 8 p.m. tonight, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday

COST: $10

CALL: (949) 824-2787