Iphigenia 2.0

Signature Theater Company

I really, really liked this, but I don't think this is my favorite play. That said, this may have been the best theater I will see this year.

Charles Mee's Iphigenia 2.0 is brilliant in all the right ways. It is a very old story magically made fresh, new and relevant.

It is the direct opposite of minimalism. In minimalist music, for instance, the music is designed to be "easy" for the conductor, the musicians and the audience. Iphigenia was demanding for the actors, the writers, the audience and everyone else involved even remotely in this production.

It was so demanding that during the standing ovation I could not believe that people had really grasped what had happened on stage. Were they applauding the dancing and the MTV like feel? Were they applauding truly modern theater? Or, were they standing and clapping because they were pushed into thinking about war and what we could learn from Greek tragedies? I vote for the dancing and the MTV-like feel, but perhaps I am wrong.

This brilliant production pushes you to think and it doesn't reveal everything. It doesn't reveal, specifically, all of its thoughts, themes or ideas. They are there for you to ponder during the play and long afterwards.

I've had the most difficulty getting this review posted. I just can't seem to let it go. It was a very complex work, a play worth seeing twice, maybe three times to really grasp what happened. The opening monologue set an unbelievably rich tone which was followed up by a sumptuous theater feast. As an audience member, it seemed only reasonable that a father kill his daughter until the instant he did so. And, then instantly you realized this was not reasonable and there must have been another way. There always must be more than one way. It's a bit like the journey Crime and Punishment takes you on. You are with the narrator thinking, "Or course she must die." And, then you realize that it is not so. It very nearly sounds reasonable and catches you up in its own logic, tricking you as it tricks the characters for awhile.

I can't wait for the next Signature Theater company production, and I'll definitely be there with $20 in hand, well spent, enjoying every minute of it. You should be too.