Warning: Parental discretion is advised. Do not see The Birds if you are offended by sexual innuendo, some foul language, fowl in general, or suggestive sexual movements (pelvic thrusts, forearm motions, and more).

Aristophanes’ The Birds is not old, it’s ancient. Tweet.  We’re talking before 400 B.C.E. old - and Old Dominion University Theatre has brought us Peter Meineck’s adaptation of that Greek comedy to its Stables Theatre.

If you like physical, high-energy performance as I do, this is certainly the play to see in Hampton Roads. In this wonderfully directed production by ODU faculty member Jenifer Alonzo (no relation), don’t expect the subtle naturalism you are used to seeing in many of the local theatres. While not flawless, it is well worth your money.

For a plot synopsis, enroll in the literature department at your local college/university, or read the script itself. (You can avoid this by seeing this play, which I recommend.)

What made this production stand out from most was its approach to character - it was far from the naturalistic. The acting was very physical and theatrical, with women sometimes playing men and a man playing the “Divine Princess”, plus - the players did not “inhabit” their characters, as we are so used to seeing, but rather “demonstrated” aspects of who they were trying to portray. This was a consistent stylistic choice throughout the production, and not a sign of artificial acting in and of itself. The last time I checked, this was referred to as “alienation”, if you follow that kind of thing.

It would be a mortal sin (pardon my Catholicism) to single anyone out in this very cohesive ensemble. Everyone had good moments. The entire cast was exceptionally connected, and they were: Alba L. Woolard, Nancy Dickerson, Casey Croson, Jon Norton, Cayley Waldo, Amanda Shelby, Stephanie Bunch, H. Dita Beard, Sarah Wylie, Evan Jones, and Lisa E. Munson.  They played a wide variety of roles that ranged from Makemedo (Woolard) to Poet (Waldo) to, believe it or not, Jerkoffalot (Munson).

This cast was a true ensemble - always on the same page and committed to the job at hand,

Good casts with excellent directors aren’t always perfect, though. Diction in this production was poor. It was difficult to understand what was being said a lot of the time, across cast. Amazingly, it succeeds in spite of this. I credit Jenifer Alonzo, who practically has my last name, tweet, for staging things so precisely and getting her cast to work together so acutely, being able to hold the audience’s attention despite the sub-par enunciation.

On an even darker note, this production failed as a comedy. It was light. It was fast. It was colorful. It was ultra-energetic. It wasn’t funny. The attempt at comedy seemed very forced. The cast was trying to “be funny,” so they weren’t. It was difficult to tell if this was the result of the style of the acting, (remember that demonstration, alienation stuff I mentioned earlier?) or simply misguided acting and/or direction coupled with shoddy speech.  At any rate, neither I nor the others in attendance laughed very much. Again, the play succeeded as an interesting piece of theatre despite this problem.

I have never before seen a play with such distinct speech and comedy syndromes succeed. The Birds does. Why? Only God knows for certain - but great staging and commitment to the job at hand are most likely the primary reasons for this very functional production, and the work of the designers and choreographer completed the job.  

Dana Margulies nailed it in her choreography and staging of the musical portions of The Birds. Her “movement” and dance in this show was simultaneously well structured, as well as imbued with a sense of discontrol. It made you think, “These birds might be peckin’ their beaks in Dad’s Natural Light Beer.”

I loved Amy Repak’s set and Nicholas Mizelle’s lighting. Repak employed color and geometric shapes to tickle us and take us back to childhood while avoiding taking us back to geometry class. Mizelle’s lighting was excellent, and we saw a great combination of both, as the lights went low at one point in the first half of the play. Hannah Pontiero’s work with properties showed its full splendor at that time as well. They were special moments.  You need to see this, everyone.

Katherine Hammond’s sound suited the play to a tee, or maybe a beak. It possessed a bird theme, it worked perfectly. If the play is called, The Birds, it’s good to do that, let’s face it.

I get more critical as I think of the costumes. I’ll give designer Astin Jones an “A” for color and her attention to detail was other-worldly. However, and I hate it when people say however - she failed to capitalize on the sexual nature of the script, especially regarding the actresses playing Chorus and Messengers (H. Dita Beard, Amanda Shelby and Stephanie Bunch) as well as Nightingale (Cayley Waldo). More provocative attire would have been perhaps more ideally suited to this production, pertaining to these characters.  This play repeatedly refers to things like “peckers” (some double entendre) and bosoms, with pelvic thrusts from the actors running rampant.   The precise nature of those actresses’ costumes occluded their body shapes, which blocked a sensual dimension that the play could have possessed from coming through. Do not disregard this as superficial and being driven by my testosterone-this is an important dimension of the play-it could have given the audience another layer to their experience. Sorry for all the big words.

All in all, this production is light and full of joy and bawdiness.

The Birds will pick back up the week after Thanksgiving, and runs November 29-December 1, showing that day at both 2:30 and 8:00 PM. For reservations, call 683-5305. Tweet.