Metamorphosis

The pamphlet explained that Metamorphoses is based on the Greek Myths, which were around before the Bible, and before people had any concept of shame or guilt about the human body. There was some nudity in the show, but it was done tastefully, and was not meant to be overtly sexual.

The stage was a square platform with dirt in the middle, which was utilized in many scenes. In my opinion, the costumes were appropriate, except for the six-inch heels a few of the girls wore. Most of the time the actors were barefoot, wearing toga-like white gowns. The Gods of course wore more elaborate costumes. The guy playing Poseidon, the sea God, had blond curly hair, and wore what looked like a long green evening gown with sparkles all over it. Aphrodite smoked a cigarette, and wore a feathery coat with sparkles over an outfit that left little to the imagination (it looked like it came from Frederick's of Hollywood!) and very high heels.

In the beginning of the show, while it was still dark, some people (men and women) wearing thongs walked slowly on to the stage, and layed in the dirt together. The sound of barking dogs and slow drum music played, and then slowly the people got up and left the stage. A lady in a white gauzy night-gown came on stage, the lights were on now. She was like a narrator. Then she was joined by 2 other women, one in the same gown, and another wearing a khaki trench coat with the gown underneath.

The first story that they told was about the greedy King Midas, who was played by a man with frizzy hair, black pants, and an open jacket with no shirt underneath. In the beginning, a drunk man with no shirt finds Midas (he was sent by the Gods), and Midas tells him that family is the most important thing, meanwhile Midas's daughter kept coming on stage bouncing a ball, jumping rope, and he kept telling her to go away. Midas allows the drunken man to sleep there, and as a reward the God grants him a wish. Midas asks that from now on, he wants everything he touches to turn to gold…the God says "this is not a good idea!" but Midas insists, and so when he walks, the ground turns to gold, and when his daughter jumps into his arms, she turns into gold too. Midas asks the God to take back the golden touch, but he must first walk to the end of the earth…

Another story is about a man (I don't remember all of the names for the characters) who cut down a tree without remorse, so the Goddesses cursed him with insatiable hunger. It was interesting, because hunger was actually a physical character in the show, and she literally jumps on the guy. Because of this, no matter how much he eats, he is still not satisfied, and he sells his own mother to try to take the hunger pains away. In the end he has to eat himself.

Then the ladies in white tell a story about a woman who loved to garden. She wore a white dress, with a cape, and planted red flowers all around the dirt. The guy with blond curly hair was in love with her, and tried to catch her attention by fishing, hunting, gardening, wearing a cowboy hat…finally he told her that Aphrodite gets mad when people don't love, and he told her a story about a girl named Myrr who was in love with her own father. Myrr's nurse helps her trick her father into sleeping with her, but when he finds out the truth, she runs away and turns into a tree. Then, the women who loves to garden told the guy telling the story to take off the ridiculous costume (cowboy hat…), and he does. He faces her and takes off his white pants too! Then she says she loves him and they hug.

More stories are told, including one unforgettable scene, when a man is in love with his own reflection. He started to really grind into the dirt like he was having sex with himself. Then there was a funny scene, about the God who flew too close to the sun. He was in a therapy session, on the beach, painting his toenails. His therapist wore a corset and very high patent leather black heels. Then the myth of Eros is told. Eros wore a bondage-looking outfit, with red wings, and a blindfold. In the end, Midas finds the end of the earth and is reunited with is daughter.

There wasn't really that much "dancing" per se, but I really enjoyed this show. The actors and actresses were very talented. There were a lot of neat visual effects, such as glitter falling from the sky, and real "Z's" falling from the sky when people slept. And there were interesting lighting effects on the walls too. There was live music at some parts of the show, including a guitar and a cello. Sometimes the actors even sang along with the music that had words. Metamorphoses was definitely a unique show. I liked it very much.