Theater Review: 'An Iliad' At The Broad Stage
Thank goodness, then, that Denis O’Hare is the storyteller of “An Iliad,” now playing at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. O’Hare, who wrote the play with director Lisa Peterson, tells the audience his version of Homer’s “The Iliad.” Some kind of wandering bard, this “Poet,” accompanied by Brian Ellingson on bass, recounts the horrors of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the Greeks and Trojans, easily slipping in and out of the characters of Helen, Achilles, Paris, Hector, and countless others.
“The Iliad” is a story that’s been carried somewhere in the background of our collective consciousness for hundreds of years, but where “An Iliad” succeeds most is in the way it depicts the timelessness of a narrative written a few millennia ago. After O’Hare recounts a war atrocity and relates it to every single documented war in the history of mankind, the audience is left shell-shocked by the horrific tendency of humans to wage deadly fights against each other.
O’Hare, an actor perhaps best known to many Angelenos for his work on “American Horror Story” and “True Blood,” takes complete ownership of his text under Peterson’s seamless direction. Oftentimes it’s easy for a minimally-staged staged one-man show to feel artificial and trite, but almost every moment seems entirely natural and un-forced. As O’Hare becomes so many different people (for calling them “characters” doesn’t seem to do justice to his work), his face physically transforms. The face we see at the end of the show surely can’t belong to the same actor who started the show, right? But no, as O’Hare transfixes the audience for the show’s 100 non-stop minutes, it’s pure, unadulterated acting—and what a treat it is!
“An Iliad” is ably supported by Ellingson’s musical underscoring, Scott Zielinski’s simple but effective lighting design, and Martha Donaldson’s flawless stage management. Donaldson calls cue after cue with incredible precision, obliterating the audience’s sense of the inherent artificiality of the theatrical art form.
While it may not be an easy story to watch, “An Iliad” is an incredibly important piece to see. Not only does it tell an important tale of the devastating effects of war on everyone, but it is a stupendous piece of theater. The reason theater can be such an effective art form is because it has the power to truly touch and transform the viewer’s spirit through the live connection between performer and audience. “An Iliad” is a stellar example of the true efficacy of heater to inspire mankind, and is not to be missed.
“An Iliad” plays at the Broad Stage (1310 11th St, Santa Monica, CA) through February 2. Tickets are $48-$97. More information can be found at thebroadstage.com.
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