The Trojan War
Written by Jessica Puller
Directed by Tony Dobrowolski
at Apollo Studio Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln (map)
thru Aug 29 | tickets: $12 | more info
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Truth and Reconciliation — 3000 Years Late
Inconceivable Theatre presents
The Trojan War
Review by Lawrence Bommer
It was hardly the war to end all wars. (That can only be World War III…) But the Trojan War lasted as long as our Iraq folly and makes as little sense then or now. In Jessica Puller’s new play it’s still being played out, with anachronistic embellishments because the principals—Helen of Troy (formerly “of Sparta”); Eris, the trickster goddess of discord; and Prince Paris of Troy, son of Priam, brother of Hector and abductor of Helen– have persisted for three millennia.
Reduced to recriminations, Paris (Shawn-Michael Hall) argues that he only stole Helen from Menelaus because the gods gave him an apple “for the fairest” that he had no choice but to give to Aphrodite when she promised him the hand of the most beautiful woman in the world—oops, that implies responsibility and even guilt…
Helen (Stefanie Johnson) says it’s not her fault that fate made her irresistible—Eris should never have stirred up trouble in the first place by playing one Olympian god against another in order to discover “what fools these mortals be.” She never knew Menelaus had arranged that any insult to his marriage would be avenged by every Achaen king in the Aegean Sea.
Eris (Mary K. Nigohosian), who recalls the curse-wielding bad fairy in “Sleeping Beauty” or the “fairest of them all” witch in “Snow White, maintains that what she set in motion could have been thwarted any number of times before and during the war. If only the combatants had thought beyond their kneejerk sense of honor and reflexive craving for revenge. Indeed.
 
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So the contentious trio reenact the causes and results of this precursor for pointless and endless conflict. By making these demi-gods and semi-mortals speak in slang as vernacular as an MTV special, Puller makes it feel non-negotiably relevant, a cautionary tale for our own ridiculous invasions.
Tony Dobrowolski’s sprightly staging keeps the quarrel fascinating, whether you know the ancient story or not. The cast are alternately charming, cutting, conciliatory—and finally resigned to the fact that it doesn’t matter who’s at fault. There’s no bringing back the dead and they’re the only ones from whom an ultimate accounting is required. The conclusion may be obvious but betting there is all the fun.
Case closed.
Rating: ★★★
Inconceivable Theatre’s The Trojan War; or How One Bad Apple Spoiled the World, continues through August 29th at the Apollo Studio Theatre, 2540 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Sundays at 7pm and Mondays at 8pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online at www.apollochicago.com, or by calling The Apollo Theater box office at 773-935-6100. More information at InconceivableTheatre.com.
artists
cast
Shawn-Michael Hall (Paris); Stefanie Johnsen (Helen); Mary K. Nagohosian (Eris); Sarah Radov (Aprodite); Lucy Carr, Cail Musick-Slater (understudies)
behind the scenes
Tony Dobrowolski (director); Raymond K. Cleveland (stage manager); Kelley Clausen (props, asst. stage manager); Patrick Murphy (managing director); Barbara H. Niederer (costumes); Chad Sheveland (sets, lighting); George Zahora (sound)
