Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: San Francisco

An Iliad
Troy Revisited in Solo Performance
San Jose Stage

Also see Richard's reviews of Wittenberg and The Hound of the Baskervilles and Jeanie's review of Smash


Jackson Davis
Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare have fashioned a one-man tour de force in An Iliad, a 100-minute retelling of critical moments in the nine-year Trojan-Greek war that employs modern language and theatrical imagery to make the battlefield fresh for a contemporary audience. In the production mounted by San Jose Stage and directed by Kenneth Kelleher, local favorite Jackson Davis inhabits the role of The Poet with fervor and passion, bringing his considerable talents to bear on the solo challenge. Unfortunately, despite all the talent on stage, the piece never quite manages to catch fire, somehow missing its potential for deeper connections.

The Poet (Davis) arrives in an abandoned building—perhaps ravaged by war?—and begins to tell his story, yet again, for the thousandth time—always hoping that this time, it will be the last time he needs to tell it. We are reminded briefly of the history, the background leading to the protracted conflict that Homer recorded for the ages. As The Poet recounts the story, he makes use of ladders, palettes, buckets, even trash left lying in the space to aid him in creating imagery, the landscape of the Trojan beach and citadel.

Focusing on the essential battle between Hector and Achilles, The Poet becomes the warriors, Hector's wife Andromache, Agamemnon, Hermes—whoever is needed to illustrate the epic duel and give it meaning within the context of the narrative. But there's a glorification of the great warriors that contradicts the anti-war agenda of the piece, and too much sameness in the telling, that wears us down. The piece needs more depth, more nuance, for the big dramatic moments to stand out. The staging here loses power by being too big too much of the time, wearing us out with overwrought emotion.

Davis demonstrates his extraordinary talent with his tremendous range, his chameleon ability to morph into different characters, with Herculean efforts to give the story weight. Lighting by Michael Palumbo aids beautifully in creating an atmosphere and many pools of light, capturing shadow and glare as enhancements to character. Director Kelleher designed the rest of the production, and in this case that's saying a lot—the set, props, and sound are compelling contributions to the overall concept and mood; sound design in particular lends a haunting accompaniment to the action.

It's the staging overall that comes up short, leaving us less than moved, albeit reminded of the seemingly endless litany of wars in the history of our species. Given the talent and obvious effort in the piece, it's a shame it doesn't connect better.

An Iliad, adapted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, based on Homer's The Iliad, presented by San Jose Stage, 490 South First Street, San Jose, through May 4, 2014. Tickets $25 - $50, available at 408-283-7142 or at www.thestage.org.


Photo: Dave Lepori


Cheers - and be sure to Check the lineup of great shows this season in the San Francisco area

- Jeanie K. Smith