Review: CRACKING ZEUS at Spooky Action Theater

DJ Corey Photography - Left to Right: DeJeanette Horne, Christina Daniels, Jacobie Thornton, Destiny Jennings, and Dupre Isaiah (front)

Spooky Action Theater’s debut of CRACKING ZEUS unleashes magical realism that blends Greek mythology and the gods of old cast against the backdrop of a crack epidemic that stubbornly persists.

Artistic Director Elizabeth Dinkova’s focus for the season is mythogenesis, the creation and redevelopment of myths. Playwright Christopher T. Hampton delivers on this through building a modern-day myth of Greek god Zeus’ womanizing ways (and his queen Hera’s vengeance), but crafting it through the eyes of the mortals involved and the destruction it wrecks.

Rufus (DeJeanette Horne) is a crack addict and social pariah ridiculed by some and pitied by others. When Hera (Nicole Ruthmarie) appears to him searching for Zeus’ love-child, Rufus finds himself wrapped up in a scheme that ensnares the (self-)righteous local pastor Momma Jo (Lolita Marie) and her son Baniaha (Charles Franklin IV). Caught in between are Baniaha’s church choir and youth group (Christina Daniels, Dupre Isaiah, Destiny Jennings, and Jacobie Thornton).

DeJeanette Horne as Rufus plays a character rich with backstory and it is easy to empathize with him. Nicole Ruthmarie as the goddess Hera whose cold, calculating cunning is present and imposing. On the receiving end of divine wrath, are Lolita Marie and Charles Franklin IV who have vision for their characters and communicate their thoughts and rationales clearly. In fact, if time permitted, it would have been exciting to see more of how these characters grow and change from their personalities at the beginning of the show to their lots in life at the end.

Most especially, the CRACKING ZEUS setting and the story resonates with DC’s past and present. Working with local performers and developed through Spooky Action Theater’s New Works in Action program and a Kennedy Center workshop, the sense of place in the show is substantial.

Through a more focused lens, it was interesting to have the myth unfold on the steps of a church. With the historic Unitarian National Memorial Church above Spooky Action Theater, the location feels realer and the interactions not nearly as far fetched.

The lighting design (by Malory Hartman) and sound design (by Navi) are finely tuned and carefully thought out to pair well with the changing nature of characters and their amorphous states of mind. Both were commendable and faithfully served roles that heightened the experience.

CRACKING ZEUS is both fantastical and raw in its portrayal of divinity coming to earth and encountering its societal ills. Beyond the mythological elements, CRACKING ZEUS posits questions on social hierarchy, addiction, and blame. In a show that is weighty in its subject matter, playwright Christopher T. Hampton and director Reginald L. Douglas know how to balance these questions with both lightness and dark humor. Spooky Action prides itself on tapping into the shared human condition through risk-taking programming. CRACKING ZEUS nail these tenets faithfully and starts the season of mythogenesis with a resounding bang.

Spooky Action Theater's CRACKING ZEUS runs now through October 13th. The performance is 90 minutes with no intermission.

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