Lysistrata Review

Theater Review: A lighter look at 'Lysistrata'

Chesapeake Shakespeare gives its own sitcom polish to Greek farce

By Anthony Sclafani

Posted 2/25/10

(Enlarge) Michelle Massa leads a wives' revolt in "Lysistrata," continuing through March 6 at Oliver's Carriage House in Columbia. Co-starring in the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company adaptation is Scott Alan Small, left. (Photo by Teresa Castracane)

One reason the works of Shakespeare have aged so well is because they present three-dimensional characters whose motives seem borne of human nature. To contrast the Bard's great skill at crafting characters with those found in an ancient Greek farce like "Lysistrata," which opened last Friday at Oliver's Carriage House, is to note the advances in theatrical art over the centuries.

This new adaptation of "Lysistrata" by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company lifts the basic structure from two separate Greek plays: "The Assemblywomen" and "Lysistrata." The first concerns a group of women who seize their town's political system. The second and more famous of the two looks at how the women persuade their men to stop fighting wars by threatening to withhold sex.

The sum of these plays, unfortunately, comes off as something less than the two parts because director and adapter Ian Gallanar tends to lean too heavily on stereotypes and forced slapstick gags.

The production opens promisingly with three mimed scenes evoking an array of classic Greek works, such as "Oedipus Rex," mostly using physical humor. Once the real action gets under way, however, that prevailing sense of visual wit and pithiness is quickly squandered.

We first meet Lysistrata (Michele Massa) as she instructs a group of women to dress up as men so that they can invade the governing assembly and vote themselves into power. "Does this beard make me look fat?" one of the women asks at one point.

Their intentions are reiterated when they break into an original song composed for the play, "We Are Men." This chanted composition mocks the habits of the male half of the species, which sets the satirical tone for the production.

Next we meet Lysistrata's husband, Blepyrus (Scott Alan Small), who awakes in the night alone. Without Lysistrata, it seems, Blepyrus is so helpless he has trouble figuring out how to go to the bathroom. His restroom issues extend into a 15-minute, sound effects-laden comedy sketch that goes on long past the point of tedium.

Small plays Blepyrus like Ed O'Neill played the doofus Al Bundy on TV's "Married With Children," but without any irony. Massa's Lysistrata, meanwhile, comes off as the type of shrill, humorless talking head you see on Sunday morning political television panels. Because both characters lack dimension, it's hard to invest much in their story.

Some of the supporting players do manage to imbue their roles with humanity. Most notable is Gregory Burgess, who plays Blepyrus' best friend, Chremes. Burgess's line readings have a resigned, realistic tone to them that help highlight some of the text's more serious concerns, so when he plays it funny, the juxtaposition is hilarious.

Similarly, Bridget Garwood got lots of laughs for her portrayal of the ditzy blonde Lampedo, for which she pushes the breathless Marilyn Monroe routine to the nth degree.

As the play unfolds, Lysistrata informs her husband that the roles of men and women will be changing and that he "won't be the provider for this family" any more. This gives the female ensemble a reason to launch into the 1985 Eurythmics-Aretha Franklin empowerment anthem "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," which seems more silly than stirring, thanks to the overwrought choreography.

The good news for the male characters is that with the new laws they also get to share the women and indulge in orgies. That makes them happy, at least for a short while. The play's orgy scene and much of the dialogue is strictly adult rated, as the playbill warns.

Toward the end of the second act, the women conspire to deny all sexual favors to their men, and the double-entendres abound. At Friday's show, some in the audience seemed taken aback by the rawness of the language and risqué props.

Ultimately, the play sides with the prevailing sitcom bias against men as beastly, sex-crazed oafs incapable of doing even the most basic of tasks and in constant need of "mothering." That obscures "Lysistrata's" original message about men being warmongers. Dumbing-down the characters ultimately weakens the play's political statement, turning it more into an episode of "The Family Guy" or something closer to a Jud Apatow film.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company continues its production of "Lysistrata" through March 6 at Oliver's Carriage House, 5410 Leaf Treader Way in Columbia's Town Center. Show times are Thursdays-Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. Admission is $25 general on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m., $30 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Senior citizens are $22, with anyone 25 or younger $15. For more information, call 866-811-4111 or go to www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com.