THEATER REVIEW: "Polaroid Stories"

Leave A Comment
Read Comments (8)

The glory days of Zeus, Ra, Odin, and their respective pantheons may be long gone, but myths stay with us. These iconic tales connect with humans on a primal level. Some offer explanations for the way the world works - the changing of the seasons, for instance - while others speak to the tragedies of ordinary people tossed around by the capricious winds of fate. Thousands of years after these stories originated, they continue to be told in a variety of ways.

Naomi Iizuka's "Polaroid Stories," the current production by Bread & Water Theatre, situates various characters from Greek myth in late 20th-century urban America. The play succeeds in showing why some of these mythological concepts still speak to modern humans, while also noting that we all have our own deeply personal stories - we are all living and creating our own myths. The majority of the cast does a good job exploring the material, but some rough edges rob the production of some of its impact.

Bringing classic myths into a modern context is nothing new. The "Percy Jackson" series, the work of Neil Gaiman, and even "The Matrix" films make smart modern use of a variety of mythological concepts. In "Polaroid Stories" a handful of familiar Greek characters are modernized and interact with one another in a seedy urban wasteland. The vain Narcissus is now a preening, self-important male hustler; party god Dionysus is a drug dealer; and so on. These icons interact with two modern mortals, referred to in the program as Skinheadboy and Skinheadgirl, and familiar cycles play out between the gods and mortals, and between the mythological beings themselves. Some interesting concepts arise here: these creatures are defined, even trapped by their narratives; humans generally behave like selfish children demanding much of their gods but appreciating little.

Many of the actors in the show turn in solid performances. Chad Edmonds immerses himself fully in the role of Narcissus, and brings some much-needed levity to the show in his well-delivered, attention-baiting monologues. Casey Siegel is believable as the nihilistic Skinheadboy, tweaking and freaking out at various intervals. Leah Camilleri is convincing as Persephone, here cast as a boozy, lovelorn prisoner who has resigned herself to her fate. Paul Nellis and Corinne Magin bring to life the show's most potent arc as Orpheus and Eurydice. The twist here - recasting the classic love story as an abusive stalker relationship - results in serious drama, and Magin and Nellis nail it. Nellis in particular holds nothing back in his unhinged rantings.

Even with the strong performances it's difficult to overlook the problems with this production, and even in the play itself. Iizuka introduces some meaty concepts, but several plot and character threads go absolutely nowhere. I'm not sure if this Iizuka's fault or the responsibility of director Shawnda Urie, but certain scenes, especially anything involving Philomel, seem pointless. The script's often-repeated dialogue - potentially a nod to the cyclical nature of myth - becomes tiresome after a while, and the constant use of obscenities and slang feels less representational of urban youth and more like caricature as the play goes on.

Beyond that, the production needs polish. Even taking into consideration the limited resources of a fairly young community-theater troupe like Bread & Water, you can't excuse some of the sloppiness that plagued the production on the night I saw it. Cast members clomped around backstage as they made their exits and entrances. There were abrupt sound cues. And the set, while visually interesting, created noisy distractions every time people brushed against the chain-link fence or kicked the cans strewn about the floor. These seem like minor things, but they disrupt the magic of the theater and take the audience out of the story.

The most egregious example on the night I attended was when the production ground to a halt while the tech crew struggled to get the fog machine and light effects working. The real tragedy here is that the visual tricks added nothing to the scene. On a related note, a slide projector is used periodically, especially near the end of Act II. I assume the images had some relation to the action onstage, but I have no idea what. From where I was sitting the light was obscured by a fence bisecting the set, and I could not make out any of the projections.

Ambition is great - we are lucky to live in a city with groups like Bread & Water that find interesting, relatively obscure works that raise serious questions about the human condition. But if you're going to aim high, you need to be able to deliver consistently. "Polaroid Stories" has a lot going for it, but it also has some production issues that hold it back.

"Polaroid Stories"

Through November 20

Bread & Water Theatre, 243 Rosedale St.

$6-$12 | 271-5523, breadandwatertheatre.org

Comments for "THEATER REVIEW: "Polaroid Stories"" (8)

City Newspaper is not responsible for the content of these comments. City Newspaper reserves the right to remove comments at their discretion.

cherie said on Nov. 09, 2011 at 11:24am

I really enjoyed this production and felt that there were so many great stand out performances by the actors. Too numerous to mention to be sure. I especially love the fact that Bread & Water Theatre chose to perform a play dealing with the real lives of street kids (something not mentioned in the review) The story of Skinheadboy being tossed in a well as a child by an abusive step-father and Persephone having to give up her baby for adoption because she's too high on drugs to take care of him really touched me. I also thought the noise from the set actually added to the production and made me feel as though I was actually at "skid row" or the best local example that I can think of would be the old Rochester subway tunnels where little noises scare, compound and terrify. Filled with graffiti, bottles, trash and homeless people just trying to make it through tomorrow. For me this production is a must see!

Stephen said on Nov. 09, 2011 at 11:58am

I loved Chad's performance as Narcissus -- his first role on stage ever according to the program -- and its great to see him get the ackowledgement in the review for all his hard work. I'll be attending this production again before it finishes its run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mary said on Nov. 09, 2011 at 1:04pm

Being a fan of Greek/Roman mythology, I have to comment. First of all, I would recomend reading Ovid's Metamorphisis before you see this show, you will get more out of it. I agree that the flaws of the show were in the script (over the top profanity) or because of the space/technical issues (noisy set, sound cues, fog machine). Based on what they had, I felt they did a good job. I felt Skinhead Girls performance was weak, along with Narcissus at times (but for his first show he was excellent!). I also felt that Orpheus over acted occasionally. Echo, G, D, and Philomel, who were not mentioned in the review, were all fantastic. I was especially interested in Philomel's character. Based on the myth, she is raped and dismembered by her sisters husband (in this case Orpheus, making Eurydice her sister?) That would explain why she is drawn to Orpheus, perhaps she is looking for her sister. Also, the actors potraying Eurydice and Philomel were both Asian, perhaps this is not a coincidence. Philomel is then turned into a songbird, which is explained in the show if you listened carefully, but that would explain why her character never talks but only sings, (and boy can she sing!) Out of all the characters, Philomel's impacted me the most, even though she had so little stage time. Those four characters deserved praise. I agree with Cherie, those two monologues had me tearing up. It is interesting how the characters constantly talk about each other, even if they had never met, through a different context. A very thought provoking show. Once again, if you have read Metamorphisis, you will be able to understand and enjoy this show thoroughly. A must see multiple times to truely absorb this show.

Minda said on Nov. 09, 2011 at 5:15pm

"But if you're going to aim high, you need to be able to deliver consistently." You know what, I'll save the rant (because I could go on forever about this) and I'll just say that is not indicative of a true theatre artist. I commend bread and water for taking risks (RISK is ESSENTIAL to all theatre, and also for growth as an artist) and for doing the things other companies wouldn't dare to think of. If this company didn't do shows because they didn't have all the resources and capabilities that others seem to think is necessary, they wouldn't be what they are. So yes somethings may not have been so admirable, BUT AT LEAST THEY TRIED, which is a lot more than can be said for some companies. sorry but that comment is just ridiculous. I've stage managed plays before and I never know before the show if I'll get every cue right, so would it be better to just not do the show at all? I don't think so.

Ron Oh said on Nov. 11, 2011 at 1:21pm

I absolutely loved this production and have been much impressed by the Bread & Water Theatre and the work that they have brought to the stage for many years. I am struck by the reviews criticism of technical aspects of the show which I didn't notice during the course of the performance that I saw. It is true that projections are used at the end of the 2nd act, but I was able to see them clearly (It could be because I was on the right side of the stage (right as in right not correct). What surprised me the most about this review was the lack of mention of Justice Peace who played the role of G. His role as an ex-druggie/drug dealer and lover to Persephone really touched me and added so much soul to the performance. I also thought that he and Andy DeRado added so much context to the story (the play itself is a fragment of many different stories told together in a kind of anthology play-- sometimes characters interact with characters of other stories and sometimes they don't) as essentially the gods of the play that it was a shame that both were overlooked in the review when they gave very strong performances. Echo was also very strong as the counterpoint to Narcissus that it was a shame she wasn't mentioned as well.

When theatres all across Rochester are charging $20-$60 for tickets to old timey safe productions it is refreshing that Bread & Water Theatre is performing excellent plays at a cost that regular people can afford ($12 general admission with discounts for students and seniors) and that this production excelled for me on every level. A MUST SEE FOR ANYONE WHO IS A CULTURE VULTURE LIKE MYSELF!!!

ting said on Nov. 12, 2011 at 2:42pm

This is an excellent show and I highly recommend it. Bread & Water Theatre is the only group in town to produce cutting edge plays. I'm so sick of these safe theatres that do sacharine shows from moth eaten old plays. It's time to move to the 21st century Rochester. Check out Bread & Water Theatre and their production of Polaroid Stories. You will be so glad you did!!!!

Laura said on Nov. 13, 2011 at 11:02am

I reall enjoyed this production. I must say that this review is not representitive of what I saw. My suggestion to the reveiwer would be, if you are unsure of a character's use or purpose, simply ask the company for a compy of the script. Considering this was a play focusing on street youth, I thought the set was very effective. As far as the comment about the entance/exit spaces, they're working with what they got, the space isn't GEVA and really, it didn't bother me.
It's great the we have people in Rochester who are willing to review theatre. However, if you obviously don't know what you're reviewing, you just sound like a dult. We have to much talent in this city for this paper to employ a reviewer who I'm thinking only wrote this peice of #$%^ review soley for the paycheck.

Johnny said on Nov. 15, 2011 at 2:45pm

From beginning to end I was taken on an amazing theatrical journey incorporating snippets of Greek Mythology and the real-life stories of street kids as mentioned above. I was most impressed with the women in this play who undergo such hardship and pain in their struggle to survive and how one of them perseverses and makes it out the other side.

I also loved the use of club music and lighting effects to create a kind of club scene through thick layers of haze and fog towards the end of act 1. It reminded me of some of the grosser places in Rochester where people go not so much for music and dancing but rather to buy from the local pusher or bang an ugly hoe.

In terms of acting Orpheus, Eurydice, Narcissus and G stole the show, but I know they could not have done it without the support of their other actors. Bread & Water Theatre always does so many interesting shows throughout the year--- stuff that i haven't seen other theatres do. Great job guys and keep up the awesome work!!!

Respond on Your Blog

If you have a City Account you can not only post comments, but you can also respond to articles in your own City Blog. It's just another way to make your voice heard.