Penelope
Based on The Odyssey by Homer
Music & Lyrics by Alex Bechtel
Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, & Eva Steinmetz
Directed by Sarah Gay
Musical Direction by Cody Dry
Produced by Stage West
Audience Rating: G
Run Time: 75 minutes, No Intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Volume
Noises or Visuals to Prepare For: None of Note
Reviewed by Jenny Wood
Stage West’s Penelope presents a musical first-person account of the legend of Penelope, Wife of Odyseus and Queen of Ithaca, who very loyally waits 20 years for her King to return from the Trojan War. In his absence, suitors of varying quality demand her attention but she manages to keep them at bay through wit and prayer.
The Evelyn Wheeler Swenson Theater space is reconfigured into an immersive nightclub experience. Seating options include a central cluster of small bistro tables, with bar seating along outer boundaries and a larger section of traditional tiered seating.
For a stage, Set Designer Bob Lavallee built in a Mediterranean-vibed pink and gold proscenium that wraps around three of the four walls, with large tempered mirrors on either side. Light fixtures placed as center pieces on each table and along the bars are technically functional - throughout the journey they transition with Bryan Stevenson’s Lighting Design.
Penelope is presented over a seamless 75 minutes with no intermission. Light piano notes from Musical Director Cody Dry signal the beginning, and the small stage slowly fills with the remaining musicians before lights up on Cara Statham Serber’s Penelope.
Serber is particularly suited to the style and format of the show - I know it’s being described as a Cabaret, but to me it felt more like an intimately staged operetta. This is likely due a band primarily composed of strings - Violin (Bethany Hardwick), Viola (Catherine Beck), Cello (Molly Wang) - supplemented by Wes Griffin on percussion and piano interludes from Dry, and the overall tone of the show.
There are comedic numbers in the first third, notably “Drunk Illiad” and “Weaving”, but once we cross past “Athena’s Song”, the mood is more haunting and meditative, with only light sprinkles of humor to anchor the throughline. Serber rides these waves deftly, transitioning with ease between musical styles to deliver a layered and mesmerizing version of a classic story that will simmer in the back of your mind long after you’ve left the theatre.
Penelope continues through March 30, StageWest.org for info and tickets.
Cheers,
Jenny
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