On the eve of 10th October, as the rest of New York was showered in rays of northern lights, the Theresa Lang Theatre of Marymount Manhattan College hosted the play ‘Metamorphosis’ for a houseful of spectators. From the E row, seated beside a man with a bouquet who (by the sounds of an eavesdropped conversation) was almost ready to fight for his seat, the room went dark and the play began!
Reading the brochure of the play failed to assist in navigating the context of the show—as it was more philosophical than theoretical, but nevertheless, the actors did a great job as conveyed by the lively crowd at the end. Metamorphosis was directed by Ellen Orenstein and produced by Jill Stevenson and was based on a collection of tales about love, greed, passion and grief from the myths of Ovid, originally written and directed by Mary Zimmerman.
The stage was built with sophisticated features, including an upstage with a black netted frame behind the pool on the center stage, where Greek goddesses would appear for their scenes—giving a heavenly or hell-like impression depending upon the god. Aside from the creativity behind building an outer space, the actors delivered a phenomenal performance. The theater actors dialoguing downstage gave off a minty impression from the gum or mouthwash they possibly had prior to the play— excluding the industrialist with the hard hat who entered eating an apple.
The costumes were remarkable and the crowd seemed to favor the grandma costume with gray curly hair-cap extension and a mini black purse. The pool at the central stage was faux, but according to the brochure a glimmering reflection was incorporated to imitate an element of water that is essential to storytelling, as explored through physical and behavioral metaphor.
Many freshmen had shown up to watch the play to fulfill their LINK and other class assignments but nevertheless, they had a great time killing two birds with one stone!
“I was watching it for my acting class and I think it was really good, it was definitely not what I was expecting and I didn’t know what Metamorphosis was about,” Jenna Amantea,18, told The Monitor.
