Review: This 'Metamorphosis' upends Kafka
Since the 1969 premiere of Steven Berkoff's adaptation of The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa - you know, he woke from troubled dreams, found himself transformed into an insect in his bed - has had some impressive interpreters.
Since the 1969 premiere of Steven Berkoff's adaptation of The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa - you know, he woke from troubled dreams, found himself transformed into an insect in his bed - has had some impressive interpreters. Tim Roth, Roman Polanski, and Mikhail Baryshnikov all scuttled about the stage as the unfortunate traveling salesman-turned-bug in Franz Kafka's novella. Mount Airy's Quintessence Theatre Group sends Gregor through yet another transformation: This time, he is played by Kristen Bailey, a woman.
Quintessence has also seen some changes. What began as an outpost in a theatrically underserved area has become fully integrated into Philly's theater scene. Thus, this production's cast and crew includes members of the Bearded Ladies, Applied Mechanics, New Paradise Laboratories, and the Riot Group (technically New York, but with strong Philly ties), and regulars from some other local mainstages. Philly's creative cross-pollination is one of its best civic traits, and even when not entirely successful, it's always interesting.
That's also the case here, with director Rebecca Wright taking rewarding risks with the show's visual appeal and stylized movements, but also losing some of the absurdist humor in Berkoff's script. Then again, Wright also drops Berkoff's more didactic, Marxist elements (pig masks, for one) to illuminate the human tragedies hiding behind all that fancy footwork. But the footwork's still pretty cool. When Bailey's Gregor first confronts her sister Greta, she becomes a horrifying composite of three performers, all flapping leg-wings, arching back, wide eyes, unhinged jaw, and wiggling arms.
Colin McIlvaine's set, a quirky, manila-colored jumble of walls, windows, and chairs, is crosshatched with patchy strips that indicate poor Gregor's gravity-defying indoor travels. Adriano Shaplin's sound design strikes ominous tones and layers Gregor's attempts at speech until they're a cacophonous screech. Katharine Fritz's costumes echo the monochromatic sets and add some cockroach brown - the better to help Bailey transform from androgynous employee and family workhorse to the creepy-crawly thing she becomes.
Of course, while her supporting cast includes such standouts as Doug Hara as Gregor's bombastic Freudian nightmare of a father, and Gracie Martin's Greta, who goes through her own molting process - a soft, sweet thing that hardens with self-interest - it's Bailey who anchors the piece. Not quite male or female, human or insect, parent or child, wanted or unwanted, she's heartbreakingly alone, and while the story's political message gets less attention, Gregor's more universal existential agonies are displayed for all to see.
It's tough to look away, even if, like Gregor, they're not a pretty sight.
THEATER REVIEW
The Metamorphosis
Presented by Quintessence Theatre Group at Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., through March 1.
Tickets: $15-$34. Information: 215-986-4450 or www.QuintessenceTheatre.orgEndText