LAFPI

Comedy. Romance. Poetry. Whimsy. Julia Rodriguez-Elliott directs a rare revival of Metamorphoses, the multiple award-winning theatrical event by MacArthur “genius” grant recipient Mary Zimmerman (Argonautika). Tales of Midas, Orpheus, Aphrodite and more swirl with passion in a funny, whimsical and heartbreaking meditation on the joys and perils of being human. Performances take place at A Noise Within from May 14 through June 5, with previews beginning May 8.

A charming re-envisioning of ancient Greek myths for a modern audience, Metamorphoses is set entirely in and around an on-stage swimming pool (front row patrons: beware of errant splashing!). Adapted from David R. Slavitt’s free-verse translation of “The Metamorphoses of Ovid,” the play’s locations, like the characters, are constantly shifting and transforming—from a swimming pool, to a wash basin, to the River Styx, to the sea. Gods and mortals alike endure love, loss, and transformation—all while immersed in a pool of water.

“I like great sweeps of time and place, and I like obsessive love and unrequited love,” said Zimmerman in an interview. “The water is sexy and sensual and beautiful. It stands in for very literal things—they row in it—but it’s also metaphorical. And sometimes it’s just very, very funny.”

Pre-pandemic, Rodriguez-Elliott directed Zimmerman’s Argonautika for A Noise Within to critical acclaim. The Los Angeles Times called the production, a re-telling of the Jason and the Argonauts myth, “theater magic.”

“We’re thrilled to continue our Zimmerman journey with Metamorphoses,” she says.

Metamorphoses premiered in 1998 at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre, then went on to a Broadway production in 2002 that was nominated for a Tony® Award (Zimmerman won for direction), and garnered Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel awards for “Best Play.”

At A Noise Within, a cast of nine resident artists takes on over 85 roles in six myths: Alan Blumenfeld (15 ANW productions, including A Christmas Carol, The Winter’s Tale, Argonautika); DeJuan Christopher (Seven Guitars); Geoff Elliott (ANW producing artistic director); Rafael Goldstein (All’s Well That Ends Well, A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, more); Nicole Javier (All’s Well That Ends Well); Kasey Mahaffy (All’s Well That Ends Well, A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, more); Sydney A. Mason (A Christmas Carol, Seven Guitars); Trisha Miller (All’s Well That Ends Well, The Winter’s Tale, Argonautika, more); Cassandra Marie Murphy (Argonautika, Henry V, Man of La Mancha); and Erika Soto (All’s Well That Ends Well, Alice in Wonderland, Frankenstein, more).

The creative team includes scenic designer François-Pierre Couture; lighting designer Ken Booth; composer and sound designer Robert Oriol; costume designer Garry Lennon; properties designer Shen Heckel; fight choreographer Kenneth R. Merckx, Jr.; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Amy Rowell.

Mary Zimmerman is a writer and director specializing in the adaptation of classic stories of world literature for the stage. Her work is known for its striking visual nature, vivid storytelling and sensitivity to the original text. She has earned national and international recognition and numerous awards, including the Tony®, Obie and Drama Desk Awards for Metamorphoses, as well as the 1998 MacArthur Fellowship (the “Genius” grant). Other acclaimed works include Journey to the West (named Best Production of the Year by Time magazine), The Odyssey, The Arabian Nights, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Eleven Rooms of Proust, The White Snake, The Mirror of the Invisible World, Candide, The Jungle Book, Treasure Island and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. These have been produced variously at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre (where she is an ensemble member) and the Goodman Theatre (where she is an artistic associate), as well as in New York on Broadway, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Second Stage and the Manhattan Theatre Club, and on national stages such as Berkeley Rep, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, DC Shakespeare and the Guthrie. Her published plays are seen annually in hundreds of productions nationally and around the world, including in China, Brazil, Spain, Canada, Peru, Taiwan, Great Britain and India. With Philip Glass, she created and directed the opera Galileo Galilei.

A Noise Within has been called “an oasis for those who love classic stories” by the Los Angeles Times and is a leading regional producer based in Pasadena, California. ANW’s award-winning resident company is committed to representing the entire community at its state-of-the-art, 324-seat performance space. In addition to producing world-class performances of classic theater, the organization runs robust education programs with the goal of inspiring diverse audiences of all ages. ANW believes in working hard on its anti-racist practice across the whole organization. By interpreting its mission to fully engage audiences through community and artist-centered work in multiple creative disciplines, ANW is striving to be a theater that better serves the entire community.

Performances of Metamorphoses take place May 14 through June 5 on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no 2 p.m. matinee on May 14). Four preview performances will take place on Sunday, May 8 at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, May 13 at 8 p.m.

In addition, there will be six student matinees at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 11; Tuesday, May 17; Wednesday, May 18; Thursday, May 19, Tuesday, May 24 and Wednesday, May 25. Interested educators should email [email protected].

Tickets start at $25. Student tickets start at $18. Tickets to the preview on Thursday, May 12 will be Pay What You Choose, with tickets starting at $5 (available online beginning at 12 p.m. the Monday prior to that performance). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107.

To purchase tickets and for more information, including up-to-date Covid-19 safety protocols on the date of each performance, call (626) 353-3100 or go to www.anoisewithin.org.