Trinity Rep’s production of Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage is a lot more fun than the average high school English class, and there won’t be a quiz afterward. The catchy rock-opera style of the book and lyrics by Jason Craig and music by Dave Malloy is a very modern take on an epic poem literally a thousand years old, very much in the spirit that Jesus Christ Superstar is a take on the Christian Gospels.
You don’t have to know any of this to enjoy the show, but, if you missed that English class, Beowulf is a poem in Old English probably composed around 700CE about some stuff that happened around 500CE, and we know about it from a single manuscript probably written around 1000CE. (The original manuscript is on the web in a highly accessible version, Electronic Beowulf 4.0, a demonstration project in presenting the works of antiquity in digital form.) The Trinity program offers a nice history, Beowulf for Beginners by Ziyi Yang, for those interested.
At its core, Beowulf is a ripping good yarn, an adventure story about a loyal hero fighting monsters and dragons to serve his king. Trinity’s set by Michael McGarty and costumes by Olivera Gajic, both worthy of particular commendation, emphasize the correspondence with the 20th Century superhero genre, at one point even displaying the “Bat Signal,” conjuring up almost a live-action graphic novel.
The play opens with three “academics” (Stephen Berenson, Anne Scurria, and Janice Duclos) giving a PowerPoint-style presentation about the history of the poem. What they say is technically accurate, but their quarreling exchanges among themselves quickly degenerate into hilarious satire of everything from post-feminist criticism to self-absorbed literary theory. One of the academics, played by Berenson who is relatively short, stands up on his chair to demonstrate the massive height of “Grendel,” betraying a morbidly non-academic fascination with this monster the actor transforms himself into.
Enter “King Hrothgar” (Joe Wilson, Jr.) who, in cool shades and silver jacket, sings of his woes because for 14 years his subjects have been kidnapped and eaten by a monster. “Beowulf” (Charlie Thurston) appears, swooping in to save the day despite having a bit of an ego and, judging by his George W. Bush-like inarticulateness, being not all that bright, but, like many of his more recent superhero progeny, this Beowulf makes up in earnestness what he lacks in intelligence. We are treated to a hard-fought battle between Beowulf and Grendel (Berenson), but only after an argument where they explain and defend their motivations to each other, a scene that probably isn’t in that old manuscript, the comic effect enhanced because Thurston playing the feckless hero is about a head taller than Berenson playing the fearsome monster. During the actual battle, Berenson wears a toweringly impressive puppet costume designed by Shoshanna Utchenik as the monster is slowly dismembered.
The kingdom celebrates the death of Grendel. A “Mission Accomplished” banner is unfurled, echoing the earlier entrance of Beowulf wearing a United States flag as a cape. The celebration turns out to be premature as now Grendel’s Mother (Scurria) appears seeking revenge for the death of her son. Scurria at first portrays the Mother as the epitome, if not a parody, of domesticity, stirring a bowl while Beowulf sits at her kitchen table having another argument about motivations. As Scurria puts on war armor and a Medusa-like wig, the battle between the Mother and Beowulf is played out in a way that, while I won’t ruin it by telling too much, is brilliantly done and probably the single funniest part of the show. Eventually in something of an extended epilogue (as in the original), Beowulf fights a Dragon (Duclos), but finds out by reading the Seamus Heaney translation that he is going to be mortally wounded.
Throughout, a chorus of warriors (Rachael Warren, Rebecca Gibel, Rachel Clausen, Laura Lyman Payne, and Brad Wilson) sing and dance in a lot more than background. Michael Rice as music director and on keyboard, Karen Orsi on guitar, and Mike Sartini on percussion render an exciting, hard-driving rock score. The vocal performances of Thurston, Wilson, and Berenson are very strong, and the vocal performance by Warren is nearly show-stealing.
With subtle and not-so-subtle homages to Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Show, and even Fiddler on the Roof, Trinity’s Beowulf is an entertaining treat for anyone who kind of liked that high school English class but wants to poke fun at it, as well as a very funny comic but respectful adaptation of the original classic poem.
Beowulf, directed by Curt Columbus, Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St, PVD. Telephone: 401-351-4242 Wed (9/14, 9/21, 9/28, 10/5), Thu (9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6), Fri (9/16, 9/23, 9/30), Sat (9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8), Sun (9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9). (Performances at 2pm or 7:30pm, see schedule for details.) Two acts, about two hours with intermission. Handicap accessible. Includes substantial but stylized violence. Website: trinityrep.com/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=beowulf&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=; Tickets: trinityrep.com/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=8AA5E7E2-BC41-4C2C-A78F-337E526B5735; The Seamus Heaney translation of the original, currently 99 cents on Amazon Kindle:
amazon.com/Beowulf-New-Verse-Translation-Bilingual/dp/0393320979