Word: electra
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Though, July 31--Mourning Becomes Electra...
LIKE A momento mori bared amidst a medieval feast, the Harvard-Radcliffe Summer Theatre's production of Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra horrifies while it captivates, an anomaly in a world of frothy fun and glitter. And like that sobering skull, the play, staged as it is in late July, reminds us that--both literally and figuratively--glorious summer will quickly fade to autumn and winter. O'Neill lets us know that even while comedy and music, sunshine and song still cast their spell, death and decay lurk inevitably in the shadows. They need simply wait...
...familiar plot, O'Neill takes the ancient Greek legend of Electra and sets it in the weeks following V-J Day. Ezra Mannon returns home from the war only to be killed by his wife Christine in collusion with her lover. Daughter Vinnie and son Orin work their revenge. Like the House of Atreus, three generations of Mannons are cursed. O'Neill's insistence on parallels is at times heavy handed, though. The main characters' names, for instance, mimic too closely their Greek counterparts. Ezra Mannon for Agammemnon, Christine for Clytemnestra, and Orin for Orestes are unnecessary hints...
Magaril's inventive use of the Ex stage, moreover, helps keep the O'Neill play from dragging. Using only alternating areas of light and dark, Magaril creates up to three rooms on the wide floor, breaking up the expanse that could drown a drama such as Mourning Becomes Electra. The small spaces force the players closer, keeping the energy level of the play from dropping too low. Magaril also makes good use of the Ex's backstage, setting some action in the passage behind the normal playing area. The enclosed area, almost a proscenium stage within the larger floor, simply...
Light summer theater it isn't Brooding and ponderous, but never slow, Mourning Becomes Electra is as black and cold as funeral garb. A play of despair, it ends without hope. But for those willing to take the long day's journey into night, an imaginative, well-directed drama awaits...