Odyssey Hums Smoothly Along
March 14, 2003By LISA BORNTEIN
Rocky Mountain News
When's the last time you walked out of a theater humming a song? And 'ah-ah-ah-ah stayin' alive' doesn't count.
Now think about the last time you did the same with children's theater.
The neglected sibling of adult theater gets a heavy dose of lovin' with Walden Family Playhouse's inaugural production, Rock Odyssey. Much of that affection is the result of composer Billy Straus' wide-flung, tuneful and energetic songs, 14 separate tunes packed into a mere 75 minutes of play. That music is supplemented by instrumental tracks laid down by Straus and Billy Cobin, and a company musically directed by Scott Lubinski.
The apex comes in the last minutes of this rock musical adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, in which Sheryl Renee, playing Penelope, considers that this man in rags could actually be her long-lost husband, Odysseus. Could It Be Him is a passionate, propulsive melody of the highest level, one that would be welcome in any adult musical.
Not all of Rock Odyssey reaches that pinnacle, but the overall production is a seamlessly presented, entertaining piece of work that makes the Denver area one very lucky host to the new theater.
Walden, funded by Phillip Anschutz's Walden Media, is a well- endowed private corporation. But its money wasn't thrown into technical effects; rather, producing director Douglas Love wisely used it to hire some terrific creative talents, Straus chief among them, with musical styles ranging from blues to gospel to straight- up musical theater. The only thing missing is hip-hop.
Director Steven Feldman beautifully orchestrates the event, which will be many children's introduction to the theater. The room goes thoroughly dark and spotlights swing, setting the mood for the unique experience theater provides. The skate-punk messenger Hermes (Scott Foster, an Arvada Center regular who brings humor and spark to every scene) flies in on his winged skateboard and guides the audience as well as the gods through Odysseus' journey from the Trojan War back home to Ithaca.
Only then does the luxurious red curtain rise, revealing the cast positioned on scaffolding like an ancient Greek production of Rent. In Laura Brock's clever design, it serves multiple purposes, setting the gods high on Mount Olympus and the humans in their settings below. She's aided by puppet designer Cory Gilstrap, who provides a towering Cyclops and particularly inventive versions of the six- headed monster Scylla and the monstrous whirlpool Charybdis. Dave Feldman's lighting design is luscious and dramatic, and even on opening night the sound design was flawless.
Several members of the all-local cast prove themselves indispensible. Renee is gorgeous and warm, with a powerful voice and presence. Denver School of the Arts student Jesse Johnson gives a tender, occasionally angry portrayal of her son Telemachus, a boy expected to grow up quickly. And Eric Mathers provides a comic gleam to multiple small roles.
All is not perfect in the Aegean, however. Stephen Cole's story swings from too much information crammed in too fast to jokes that are beneath the age-8-and-up audience the show is geared toward. Additionally, the actual characters are too mild. Zeus (Steven Miles) is made to be ineffectual and doddering, but awe would have been a nice quality to have in this show. Similarly, Poseidon (Tim Grant), the architect of Odysseus' troubles, is quietly petulant where the play could have used a villain. And his musical stylings as Elvis are too directly descended from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
But children probably won't be picking this production apart. They will gaze in wonder at the stage and have an experience that will make them eager to return to the theater.
That alone makes Rock Odyssey a journey worth taking.
