Review: MAIDEN VOYAGE at West of Lenin is All Greek to Me

A well-intentioned show is sometimes just that, and unfortunately, Parlay company's first full-length production "Maiden Voyage" falls under that category. This modern adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" (Or is it a reworking? Or is it a hypothesized retelling of 'herstory'?) has two primary differences from the original: Penelope does not faithfully wait 19 years for Odysseus' return, and Penelope writes "The Odyssey" instead of Homer. But when an idea does not get fully flushed out, what results is a convoluted plot line that ultimately does not say anything coherent or new.

The original "Odyssey", a poem written in the 8th century B.C., mainly focuses on the mythical Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. Odysseus fights in the Trojan War for ten years, then it takes him ten more years to return to Ithaca. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope has refuted dozens of suitors, even when Odysseus is presumed dead. Their son, Telemachus, is left to deal with the suitors, whom, upon Odysseus' return, are slain by the father-son duo. Odysseus and Telemachus also hang twelve household maids who had betrayed Penelope in some way or another.

(As an aside, there is much, much more to "The Odyssey", but "Maiden Voyage" focuses solely on Odysseus' return from Penelope's point of view.)

In Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth's adaptation, Penelope did not refute the suitors, and she is the author if "The Odyssey." The rest of the tale is pretty true to the original text; in fact, about half of the dialogue felt like it was from the original text. The other half was modernized, both in vernacular and social progressiveness.

These changes, along with the modern, quasi-Grecian costumes and geometrical set design by what looks like Ikea, create the biggest issue with "Maiden Voyage". The "who" of the play is clear, but the "when", "why", and to an extent "where" are unclear. All of the characters have their original names, and there are references to Troy, so it probably takes place in Ithaca, but with the physical world and the dialogue pull the narrative in two different chronological directions.

The story is challenging without an obvious setting to build upon. Even if the setting were more clearly established, though, the adaptation's point remains unclear. If the point is to say that history is told by the victor, that idea isn't new. If the point is to address how women were treated poorly in ancient Greece, that's not exactly a secret either. A reworking's reason-to-exist is imperative, and "Maiden Voyage" in its current state does not have one.

Why, too, in this feminist play, do the men get to make all of the problems about themselves? It's hard to believe that the women in this play have twenty-first century social awareness when the men are still living in 8th century B.C. But this goes back to the sheer lack of clear time and place in "Maiden Voyage". If, for example, this does take place in modern Greece, even in a fantasy landscape where Troy still exists, why give the characters in the adaptation names like Clytemnestra and Agamemnon? And if this space was supposed to exist simultaneously in ancient Greece and modern Greece, the purpose of that directorial choice is very unclear. To say that the way women were treated in ancient Greece and the present day are comparable is only true in that women have always lived in a patriarchal society. But, once again, this is not a new idea. One should not need to speculate all of these possibilities for when and where a play takes place. There is a massive difference between intentional ambiguity and incoherence, and "Maiden Voyage" too often falls under column B.

This script simply needs a reworking. In its present condition, it's too confusing for the purpose to be understood. For selling itself as innovative but saying nothing new, I give "Maiden Voyage" a very frustrated and confused 1/5 stars. Isis King's portrayal of Melantho is the show's saving grace.

"Maiden Voyage" performs at West of Lenin through June 11, 2017. For tickets and information, visit them online at www.westoflenin.com.

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