'Polaroid Stories' gives urban twist to mythology

"Polaroid stories" 4 out of 5

By Graham Culbertson The Gamecock

In "Polaroid Stories," USC Theatre's latest stage production, classical stories from Ovid's "Metamorphoses" fuse with contemporary tales of homeless youth. The result is chaotic, as characters representing Zeus, Dionysus and other legendary figures live in the present day.

By the second half of the play, the idea has worn thin, but strong performances and an even stronger effort by the stage designer and the effects coordinator make the show at least worth its admission price.

Longstreet Theatre, which can be used as a conventional theater but is more valuable as a circular "theatre in the round," has been transformed into a frightening, vivid representation of an urban nightmare. A fire escape, enhanced from "The Glass Menagerie," looms darkly and sinisterly over the stage, while a metal platform and an old mattress provide the centerpieces, covered with garbage and graffiti. Although the side exits, which have been transformed into items such as the fire escape or a runoff pipe, work well with the setting, the dark hole in the stage's center proves the most frightening. It serves as another entrance and exit as well as represents the Greek underworld, Hades.

Although the connection between the Greek characters and the modern-day homeless is never completely clear, a pair of gods give the best performance. Zach Hanks, Dionysus, and Marcus Thomas, Zeus, pace the production with commanding performances. Hanks' Dionysus is particularly terrifying once he has been double-crossed by Skinhead Boy (Matt Purdy). Zeus, who is described as the father of Dionysus but never interacts with him, seems to glory in the wreckage and disarray surrounding him.

All of the cast members, from the self-indulgent Narcissus (Patrick Kelly) to the endearing Echo (Antionette Wright), seem to fully inhabit the characters they're playing. Unfortunately, none of the characters seem to have clear motivations. Perhaps this could be cleared up with a greater understanding of the source material, although the program does give some brief information on Ovid's characters.

The play seems to be designed to catch our conscience, as we are horrified by the lives of the homeless. In the jumbled-up script by Naomi Iizuka, none of the characters are consistent enough to garner any real emotional response. This lack of sympathy works against the play, as does its Greek references, as the long second half seems to be primarily a repetition of the first.

But although the characters mostly come and go too rapidly for us to care about them, the play's strengths endure. The real stars are not the actors, but Director/Sound Designer Craig Miller and the talented crew that designed and implemented the evocative and frightening costumes, lighting and set.