The tale of the daughter of greedy King Midas turning into gold. Orpheus, “the greatest musician of all time,” seeing his lover Eurydice die and come back to life—only to be lost in the Underworld again. The handsome youth Narcissus, pining after his own image, then eventually wasting away and becoming a pool-side flower.
All of these immortal tales and those of gods, goddesses, lovers, heroes, and sea-faring men stem from classical Graeco-Roman mythology. They are also, especially in the Roman poet Ovid’s ancient narrative poem “Metamorphoses,” bound together by the theme of change and transformation.
Students at the Statesmen Theatre of George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church are currently performing Mary Zimmerman’s stage adaptation of the “Metamorphoses,” presented in the past year at Washington’s Folger Theatre. In the unique staging of this high school version, everything is centered around a pool lined with flowers.
Narcissus, for example, stands in the pool as he sees his reflection in its waters. Orpheus likewise crosses the pool, which represents the river Styx, in order to reclaim and return to the world of the living his dead bride Eurydice. The onstage pool with a white fluffy cloud above lit by multi-colored electric lights within is accompanied by minimalist costumes and props, as when the Lord of the Underworld’s identity is established by his holding a cane with a skull on top. To enhance an intimate and immersive experience, audience members sit on the actual stage rather than in the aisles of the school’s spacious theatre.
Students performing in this production include Graham Poteat is King Midas, Saniya Desai as Aphrodite, Anson DeVinney as Orpheus, Han Nguyen as Eurydice, Andrew Krouse as Narcissus, and Eliott Boon and Sara Moharerrzadeh, respectively, as Ceyx and Alcyone.
Falls Church News-Press spoke to Ahmad Maaty, M.F.A., who is directing his first production at George C. Marshall High School. He told us: “I chose ‘Metamorphoses’ by Mary Zimmerman as I knew I wanted to do something that challenged my students to see theatre through a lens that was dynamic, heightened, and thoughtful. I wanted a piece that would make them fall in love with storytelling and feel the same sense of responsibility that I do towards my craft, towards the arts. I wanted them to find a maturity and a depth in the purpose of telling stories. Upon my first read of the play, I fell instantly in love with it. There is no way to read this play and not be immediately immersed in the imagery and language.”
Mr. Maaty also maintains that, although these stories come to us from remote antiquity, the notion of metamorphoses is a highly relevant one for our times: “We as a society appear to be in a constant state of transformation, and we must navigate that change on a daily basis.” Mr. Maaty notes: “I’m not sure they spend as much time teaching Greek and Roman stories in school as they used to when I was growing up. It was really refreshing and inspiring to watch my students soak in these stories and try to understand them from a contemporary mindset.”
Indeed, some of Ovid’s tales were even new to the director and will likely be to many audience members as well. To render the play more accessible, the playbill to be handed out to the audience has summaries of the tales, for example, that of Alcyone and Ceyx, who are passionately in love: “When King Ceyx embarks on a sea voyage that Queen Alcyone begs him to forego, he dies in a shipwreck. Overcome with grief, Alcyone goes to the shore and sleeps in the shallow pools—a mournful act that moves the gods to show empathy and transform the couple’s future.”
For readers who wish to engage in an innovative production of classic literature and reflect on the ever-modern theme of change and transformation, “Metamorphoses” will be performed at George C. Marshall High School on November 14, 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.; November 16 at 2 p.m.; and November 17 at 3 p.m. For more information, please visit this website: Home | Marshall High School Statesmen Theatre.