THE 1041C Theater Reviews

The staged reading of “Medea” was a pleasure to watch. It brought to life the play that we had read for class. I’ll have to admit that it was very similar to what I had imagined while reading it.
The actors did a great job for a production that was pieced together in a short amount of time and with a bare minimum of props. The Chorus definitely surprised me in the beginning with their sudden appearance from within the audience. I would have never guessed that they were actors in the production. The actors also did a great job of breaking the fourth wall. Throughout the play Medea and several other members of the cast continued to turn and speak to the audience. This technique caused me to stay alert and engrossed in the play.
The lack of props seemed to pose a challenge to the actors but they pulled it off excellently. They never hesitated to refer to the two masks as children and their strong belief that a prop was alive forced me to believe as well. Also, there was barely any scenery besides a small Ionic column in the background. The lack of scenery also made it harder for the actors to create a believable performance, but they pulled it off nonetheless.
Denise Ann Pelletier did a great job as Medea. She certainly portrayed the madness within her character quite well. The reversal of Medea when she goes from self-pitying to revengeful was well played. Another character worth noting would be Kahleen Turco-Lyon as the Nurse. I feel as if she did an excellent portrayal of the Nurse and even though she did not have many lines, her presence was felt throughout the play. The actors within the Chorus should also be noted because I believe they had one of the toughest jobs of all. Many members of the Chorus were playing dual roles and were sometimes forced to switch characters instantaneously. The characters all interacted well with each other, which caused a more realistic play. The only character whose performance was lacking would be Jason’s. He did not seem to be in character, he seemed to be a man pretending to be somebody he is not. In other words, his performance was no as believable and I have to admit caused me to lose belief in the play as a whole.
In general the play was well performed and well directed. Though there was a lack of props and settings, the actors made up for it through their performance.