On a typical parent weekend (without my parents), I, like many, trekked to the theatre to make the most of a Friday night. This fall’s show was The Birds, a Greek play by Aristophanes, translated, or should I say “transmigrated” by Keyne Cheshire, and directed by Mark Sutch.
Now, like pretty much everyone who went to see the show, you’re probably wondering what “transmigrated” means. Essentially, it means the play set out not to be an exact word-for-word translation, but instead, take the jokes and plot from the original and make it relatable to a modern audience. On the whole, the play did a great job with that, from jokes about Hilary Clinton’s emails to Carol Quillen to Magic Mike. The play certainly connected with the Davidson crowd.
The “birds” themselves had to be my favorite part. They swung around on pieces of cloth (props to the actors for learning how to do aerial stunts and managing to do them under pressure), sang cool rock music (courtesy of writing talents Brooke Brazer, Cy Ferguson, and Blake Steinberg), and danced around in awesome costuming (designed by Alice Neff). Each “bird” managed to have its own, individual personality that shined through on stage, even if they weren’t the focus of a scene. Also, a special shout out to my favorite “bird” in the production, Brooke, who in addition to writing some of the music, played the eagle/chorus leader. Not only was her stage presence on point, looking regal and refined, but she sang the whole show despite the fact her voice has been having issues for a week.
The only down side to the production was that the show got off to a slightly slow start. It opened with the two human characters, searching for the Dodo bird, but it wasn’t always clear why they were searching, and the scene dragged on. With a slow opener, it took some time for the audience to really get into it. But after the first scene, the show picked up its pace and kept me gaping.
Overall, an excellent and fun performance! Congrats to the cast and crew!