(no subject)

Just saw The Odyssey at the ART. (Later than usual for us: our usual preview showing got cancelled -- not sure what wasn't ready -- so we wound up with one of the main showings instead.)

Manages to be surprisingly faithful to the story from Homer (mostly modern dress but otherwise very much of the period) while being an absolutely savage look at the aftermath of war, and viewing all of it through a female lens. The only actress playing a single through-line part is Penelope, but the heart of the show is the three women playing the Chorus, the Fates, the voices in Odysseus' head, and three of the main other women in the story.

The author of the play (Kate Hamill) is one of those three -- she plays Circe and completely steals the show in the second act (this one is three hours and three acts with two intermissions -- unusually long for the ART), with a take on the character that is powerful, passionate, terrifying and blasphemous in equal measure. She's basically worth the price of admission on her own.

Odysseus, while still the central character and having the most stage time, manages to be a mix of toxic masculinity and self-pity, desperately seeking forgiveness for his war crimes in Troy. I wind up somewhat empathizing with him, but still agreeing with the women who all basically wind up going variations of, "Dude -- seriously? We're not here to forgive you. Get your shit together."

The writing is sharp and smart, and terribly funny at times despite being a tad bleak overall.

Not easy, but a very good show. Playing through this week -- worth seeing if you have a chance.