A Worthwhile Re-imagining in “An Odyssey”

By Ernest Kearney  —  An Odyssey by Patrick Denney is a solid piece of writing that is well-directed by Turner Munch and well-acted by Julia Davis, Joe DeSoto and Carolina Montenegro.  It is a re-working of the story of Homer’s epic tale of Ulysses’ journey home; without the character of Ulysses.  Here, the emphasis is placed on those he

Julia Davis in “An Odyssey” at Studio C

left behind, Penelope (Davis), his son Telemachus (DeSoto) and his dog (Montenegro). Also, ancient Greece has been transformed to any American military base in the world.

Denney has caught the affect the absence of a husband and father can have on a wife or child, and what those left behind suffer when loved ones are lost to military service.   A clever device to serve this factor is having DeSoto as Ulysses’ son­—clad in a Boy Scout uniform—depicting how want-of-a-father can have an adverse effect on a child’s maturity.

Silver Medal (via The TVolution)An Odyssey is a sharp, intelligent show that only suffers from a lack of interaction between the characters.  In theatre as in life, tragedy finds its expression in relationships.  Worth checking out.

A SILVER MEDAL.

And good luck at Yale, Patrick.

♦     ♦     ♦

An Odyssey is playing during

 The Hollywood Fringe Festival

Venue:

Studio C
6448 Santa Monica Blvd.

For Show Information and Tickets go to : http://hff18.org/5093


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An award-winning L.A. playwright and rabble-rouser of note who has hoisted glasses with Orson Welles, been arrested on three continents and once beat up Charlie Manson. His first play, "Among the Vipers" was a semi-finalist in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition and was featured in the Carnegie-Mellon Showcase of New Plays. It was produced at the NPT Theater in Ashland, Oregon and Los Angeles’ celebrated Odyssey Ensemble Theatre. His following play, “The Little Boy Who Loved Monsters” was produced at The Hollywood Actors Theater, where he earned praise from the Los Angeles Times for his “…inordinately creative writing.” The play went on to numerous other productions including Berlin’s The Black Theatre under the direction of Rainer Fassbinder who wrote in his program notes of Kearney, “He is a skilled playwright, but more importantly he is a dangerous one.” Ernest Kearney has worked as literary manager or as dramaturge for among others The Hudson Theater Guild, Nova Diem and the Odyssey Ensemble Theatre, where he still serves on the play selection committee. He has been the recipient of two Dramalogue Awards and a finalist or semi-finalist, three times, in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition. His work has been performed by Michael Dunn, Sandra Tsing Loh, Jack Colvin and Billy Bob Thornton, and to date, either as playwright or director, he has upwards of a hundred and thirty productions under his belt, including a few at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater as puppeteer. Kearney remains focused on his writing, as well as living happily ever after with his lovely wife Marlene. His stage reviews and social essays can be found at TheTVolution.com and workingauthor.com. Follow him on Facebook.

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