Reviewed by David Roberts for Theatre Reviews Limited

"Electra" -- A Stirring Vote for Justice in the New Millennium

If you do nothing else for yourself (or for some you care about) during the next eight weeks, go to see Zoe Wanamaker in "Electra" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. This production of "Electra" is pure joy, pure beauty, pure perfection. There is not one movement, one sound, one glance, one shadow that is out of place on this stage. Miss this production, and you will see nothing like it on or off Broadway for a very long time.

Sophocles' "Electra" (adapted here by Frank McGuinness) is a tragedy of relentless intensity, the story of one woman's obsessive desire to avenge her father's death at the hands of her mother Clytemnestra, and her mother's lover, Aegisthus. Electra is a woman steadfast in her rebellious allegiance to her dead father and her uncompromising demands for justice.

The story, as outlined in the program, is a straightforward one. Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and father to Electra and Orestes, sacrificed their sister Iphigenia to appease Artemis (who had detained the ships) as he led the Greek fleet to war with Troy. During his absence, his wife Clytemnestra, Electra's mother, took Aegisthus as a lover. On Agamemnon's victorious return from Troy, they assassinated him, ostensibly because he had killed his daughter.

"Electra" is a beautifully constructed play. In the opening scene, the audience is allowed to know that Orestes (Michael Cumpsty), Electra's brother and her only hope for vengeance, has returned to Mycenae with his servant (Stephen Spinella) to avenge his father's death. Because he left the town as an infant, no one recognizes him and he is able to spread the rumor that he Orestes is dead. With everyone assuming he is dead, Orestes can move about freely and gather the information he needs to avenge the death of his father. Orestes composes his intricate plan to the metronomic sound of the water dripping onto the set from above. This is a beautiful effect. This steady dripping accentuates Orestes' assertion that he "trusts not arms nor man" and his faithful appeal to the oracles of Apollo for assistance.

After Orestes' departure, the audience has the opportunity to meet Electra (Zoe Wanamaker) whose body and soul have been battered by years of mourning and weeping. Nothing can stop her. Not the Chorus of Mycenae (Pat Carroll), nor her sister Chrysothemis (Marin Hinkle) can console her. Electra knows that she "has no man to protect [her]" and that he "has to do it." "Nothing is sane or sensible," she cries out, "the world's turned bad and so have I." Everyone but Electra sees her mourning as senseless. Her sister pleads with her to accept the reality of the balance of power being on her family's side. Electra has only justice. The consequence of Electra's continued mourning would be nothing short of "exile and death."

When Orestes (not yet revealed) returns to tell Electra of her brother's death, presenting her with the urn containing his ashes, he describes Orestes' death is such detail that his story is easily accepted by Electra as true. Chrysothemis enters and offers a completely different story, claiming she saw Orestes at their father's grave where he left a lock of his hair as an offering. Electra prefers to believe that her brother is dead and urges her sister to join her in her determination to murder their mother. Again Electra is reminded that she "[is] a woman [and has] no power." Orestes, seeing her grief, reveals his identity. Electra interrogates him until she is convinced that he is, in fact, her brother and then welcomes him home. What follows is the gruesome murder of Clytemnestra and her husband Aegisthus (Daniel Oreskes).

All of the performances in this Frank McGuinness adaptation of "Electra" are outstanding. It really is a perfect ensemble cast seamlessly directed by David Leveaux and beautifully lighted by Paul Pyant. Johan Engels set is timeless really and only the "altar" would betray any "period." Engels' costumes, from Electra's father's coat which she wears as a symbol of her vengeance to Clytemnestra's impeccable dress which she wears as a symbol of her total indifference to Electra's pain, are exactly right and, again, timeless.

At the end of the play, the "chorus" pronounces that Electra's suffering has ended. That she has her freedom. That the deed is done. The avenged Electra replaces her mask, a haunting reminder that though this particular chapter of violence has ended, violence continues in other areas, including Bosnia whose sadness and despair ostensibly inspired this production. But there is also Honduras and Nicaragua and Matthew Shepard and the workers in sweat shops in China. And the list goes on and those on the list join Electra in having justice on their side, knowing power often lies in the hands of the oppressor.

Reviewed on Sunday, November 29, 1998

"ELECTRA"

By Sophocles. Adapted by Frank McGuinness. Directed by David Leveaux.
Set and costume design by Johan Engels; lighting design by Paul Pyant;
sound design by Fergus O'Hare; movement direction by Jonathan Butterell;
production stage manager, Robert I. Cohen. Eric Krebs, Randall L.
Wreghitt, Anita Waxman and Elizabeth Peck Williams present the Donmar
Warehouse/ McCarter Theatre production of "Electra" at Broadway's Ethel
Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth
Avenue, for a limited eight-week run. Tickets, priced at $35 and $60,
are available through TeleCharge at: 212-239-6200. "Electra" will be
performed Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, Wednesday and
Saturday matinees at 2:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 3:00 pm. 90
minutes; no interval.

WITH: Zoe Wanamaker (Electra), Claire Bloom (Clytemnestra), Stephen
Spinella (Servant to Orestes), Michael Cumpsty (Orestes), Marin Hinkle
(Chrysothemis), Daniel Oreskes (Aegisthus), Mirjana Jokovic (Chorus),
Ivan Stamenov (Plyades), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Chorus), and Pat Carroll
(Chorus of Mycenae).

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