IPHIGENIA AT AULIS, Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, front steps, University of Utah, Saturday and Sunday (355-2787 or 581-7100); also next Monday at de Jong Concert Hall, Brigham Young University, Provo (422-4322). Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission).
It's always humbling — and frightening — to realize that works written barely hundreds of years ago (Shakespeare) much less more than 2,000 years ago (Euripides), still resonate with meaning today.
Director Larry West has taken Mary-Kay Gamel's recent translation of "Iphigenia at Aulis" and thrown in some dramatic, savvy contemporary touches — having a television commentator and crew follow King Agamemnon, the heroic Achilles and others around, asking pointed questions about the Trojan War and its impact on the Greeks. (The time frame is established by an off-stage voice announcing "Onward to Troy: Day 20" ( . . . or "Day 25" or "Day 29").
The same kinds of questions are being asked about today's battle in the Middle East.
And while "Iphigenia at Aulis" is told against an epic backdrop of thousands of Grecian warriors, anxious to cross the Agean to bring the abducted Helen back home (to a family that isn't all that pleased with her in the first place), it's also an intimate tale of King Agamemnon cutting a disastrous deal with the goddess Artemis and the tragic consequences of his dilemma — offering to sacrifice his beloved daughter, Iphigenia, in order to turn the tide of the war. (A war that began when his antagonistic brother Menelaos lost his wife Helen to the barbaric Trojan Paris.)
Agamemnon has come up with a scheme to allegedly wed his daughter to Achilles, which pleases his wife, Queen Klytemnestra — until she discovers that, in fact, the "wedding" is a ruse to lure Iphigenia to an altar of death, not marriage.
The Salt Lake City performances — as traditionally done for the past 35 years — are staged as the dramas were in ancient Greece: outdoors at dawn.
The front steps of Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre provide a dramatic backdrop, with its Doric facade. (But you'd be wise to bring caps with visors to shield yourself against the rising sun.)
West has a strong cast of both students and faculty.
Richard G. Scharine and Hugh Hanson are well cast as the feuding brothers Agamemnon and Menelaos, respectively, with Barbara Smith as the King's strong-willed wife Klytemnestra, traumatized by the events surrounding her oldest daughter.
Jamie Greenland also does a fine job as Iphigenia, who idolizes her father and who, in the end, agrees that she will be blessed by the gods for giving her life for her country.
Rob Shand plays Achilles with Aaron Buckner as the King's advisor — both pivotal roles as the scheme unravels.
One of the best performances is by Stacyu Sobieski, listed as "chorus leader" on the playbill, playing a modern-day television newshound, asking pointed questions about a controversial, "winless" war.
Megan Gregory and Nao Dobashi are the traditional "Greek chorus," with Arwen Ek as the TV camera operator.
Brenda van Der Wiel's costumes are a blend of both ancient and contemporary styles, augmented by Amanda French's wigs. Choreographer Darlene Casanova adds some Grecian folk-dancing to the mix.
There was only one minor problem — the sounds of the traffic (buses in particular) on 1300 East, just below the seating area.
Sensitivity rating: May be too intense for younger children.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com