Playwright: Sean Graney after Sophocles
At: The Hypocrites at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Phone: 773-989-7352; $36. Runs through: Oct. 16
After Oedipus Rex gouges his eyes out in the classic Greek tragedy named after him, who cleans up the mess? And when Philoktetes needs to amputate his infected and stench-generating foot, who should he turn to?
Leave it to director/playwright Sean Graney to answer these questions by reimagining the seven surviving plays of master Greek dramatist Sophocles in a hospital setting for The Hypocrites' very enjoyable Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses. Then throw in two watchful and occasionally wisecracking nurses (Sarah Jackson and Shannon Matesky) to function as the Chorus, so there is staff on hand to clean up copious amounts of spilt stage blood.
If Graney was aiming to make musty old Greek dramas feel alive and relevant, then he thunderously succeeds with his cheeky and irreverent spin on Sophocles. Don't let the show's long running time of more than three hours deter you from going.
The seven condensed plays speed by over the course of three acts, which are smartly grouped around themes of honor (lost, found and abandoned). As a major bonus, The Hypocrites even provide food after Act I. (Sultan's Market was the tasty all-veggie opening night caterer.)
Graney's large and versatile cast members throw themselves into their roles with a fine balance of winking at the sometimes extreme absurdity of the situation while also playing the drama deadly serious. This approach is welcome from the usual pomposity applied to producing classical Greek drama, and well suited for sarcastic audiences of today (the full-view bloodletting is also a retreat from classical Greek drama where the gory violence usually happens offstage).
Great character work abounds. For the women, Erin Barlow's pink and prissy Chrysothemis and Lindsey Gavel's aggressively confrontational bag lady Blind Seer both hilariously stand out, while the pushy Dejanira and Clytemnestra of Tien Doman are both bitterly extreme.
Among the men, Robert McLean's Philoketetes and Geoff Button's Neoptolemus are very endearing, while Jeff Trainor as Oedipus and Walter Briggsas both a dying Herakles and crazed Ajaxlay on the dramatics. Thoughtful and controlled performances come from Zeke Sulkes, Ryan Bourque and Maximillian Lapine.
The ancient and the modern are amusingly and often insightfully blended together design-wise, with Alison Siple's costumes running the gamut from 1950s American housewife to Soviet superpower might. Alas one major design flaw is the Chopin's basement support beams that get in the way of Tom Burch and Maria Defabo's otherwise ingenious set. The audience is given permission to move about to get better views (though few seemed willing on opening night).
Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses is a compelling mash-up of classical Greek drama and manic modernity. Best of all, The Hypocrites make these thousands-of-years-old tales fresh and fun.