The tragedy tells of Oedipus’ fall from glory as a beloved king to ruin as a social outcast guilty of the gravest crimes, a fall that is completed all in the space of just a few hours on one terrible day. 6^th @ Penn Theatre, which between the efforts of owner Dale Morris and Grass Roots Greeks has become the navel of Greek tragedy in local theatre, presents us with this world premiere new translation by celebrated local Greek translator/playwright/philanthropist Dr. Marianne McDonald. It follows on the heels of her powerful and completely compelling Children of Heracles which played at 6^th @ Penn a couple months ago.

Whereas Heracles was kind of a roller coaster ride that combined action, humor, and tragedy in fairly equal amounts, Oedipus is quite a different style. The tone starts out somber, with the beleaguered citizens of Thebes begging King Oedipus to help them, and then slides deeper and deeper into darkness from there as the tangled mystery behind Oedipus is revealed, and his connection with his wife Queen Jocasta and her late husband (Kind Oedipus’s predecessor on the throne who was murdered before Oedipus arrived in Thebes).

The curse on Oedipus became known to him as a young prince in Corinth – that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Trying to outwit the gods and escape this most horrible of destinies, Oedipus fled his home in Corinth, killed a bunch of travelers in a fit of road rage (he has a terribly short temper), and ended up in Thebes where he met and eventually married the city’s recently widowed queen. While the audience can fairly easily guess right away what has happened, the awful truth is not known to the characters until Oedipus begins fulfilling a command by the Oracle of Delphi that he find and rid Thebes of the murderer of their former king.

The clear, beautiful, and somewhat ominous ringing of Greek chimes, along with the sweet smell of burning incense, immediately get us into the mood of the time and place, and Pam Benajmin’s aged and aesthetically appealing Greek courtyard is a lovely setting. Within this setting, Director George Ye and his fine cast help to slowly build the dramatic tension as the layers of mystery are peeled away. Matt Scott makes for a gentle and caring Oedipus with an inner rage simmering just below the surface. As Queen Jocasta, Cristina Soria delivers the most climactic moment when the truth about Oedipus finally dawns on her, as well as all its implications. Jack Banning truly stands out with his delightful performance as the blind, old prophet Tiresias who has lost his eyesight but not his second sight – nor has he lost his sense of drama or humor. Kati Behumi impresses with the monologue in which she describes Queen Jocasta’s miserable fate, and David S. Cohen gives a touching performance as the elderly shepherd whose discovery of an abandoned baby in the wilderness gave the infant new life (though some might have considered death better than the life it was cursed to have).

Production runs through November 2, 2003.

Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill