The 6th @ Penn Theatre confluence of University of California, San Diego Prof. Marianne McDonald (translation), Douglas Lay (director) and Leigh Scarritt (composer and vocal arranger) makes for a glorious staging of Sophocles’ “Iphigenia at Aulis,” continuing through Aug. 6 at the intimate Hillcrest space.
Lay, whose direction is assured and imaginative, casts some of San Diego’s best actors, introduces a promising young woman in the title role, and fields a chorus as clear and distinct and lovely as any ever heard. This chorus ” Judy Ho, Leti Carranza, Titania Holthaus, Dorothy Guthrie and Sarah Knapp ” not only speaks distinctly and in unison but also sings Scarritt’s mellifluous, tonal music, which is mostly passed from voice to voice or in unison and occasionally bursts into thrilling, beautifully blended full-on chords.
In the play’s second scene, the shrouded women appear, at first crawling in the dust at Agamemnon’s military encampment at Aulis. Though they cannot see one another, they speak exactly in unison, a marvelous feat indeed. Despite their youth, they do not sound like Valley Girls, no doubt the result of their vocal training and rigorous practice of the spoken word. What an inspiring example they are; perhaps all is not lost.
McDonald’s translation is lucid and refrains from becoming overtly didactic, despite this being a great anti-war tragedy that underscores the fact that the young are the first to be sacrificed in any war.
In Euripides’ play, it’s Iphigenia who is summoned to Aulis by her father, Agamemnon, King of the Greeks. The oracle has told him that if he sacrifices Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis, she will provide sufficient wind for his becalmed boats to sail to Sparta, where Agamemnon intends to rescue his brother Menelaus’ abducted wife, Helen, from Paris.
Michelle Cabinian, a sophomore at Bonita Vista High School, plays Young Iphigenia most impressively. Her credits include the Old Globe’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and several shows at Starlight Musical Theatre. She is poised in her performance, and she can sing.
An actor of great stature, physically and intellectually, Ruff Yeager mines every vein of Agamemnon’s power, dilemma, deviousness and ultimate sorrow. As Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s horrified wife and Iphigenia’s mother, Robin Christ is a study in restraint. After all, she could chew the scenery. Those acquainted with the mythology know she will have her revenge in time, but that’s another play.
Others in the company are Jack Winans as an Old Man, Rhys Greene as Menelaus, and Giancarlo Ruiz as Achilles. In an amusing scene, Melissa Hamilton and Anthony Hamm portray members of the media.
McDonald’s subtle witticisms abound. My favorite is spoken by Clytemnestra to Achilles: “You are divine, and I am mortal. Why stand on ceremony now?”
“Iphigenia at Aulis” is not about amusing listeners, though it does. We know where we are headed.
“Iphigenia at Aulis” plays at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, through Aug. 6 at 6th @ Penn Theatre, 3704 Sixth Ave., San Diego.
For tickets and info, call (619) 688-9210.