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Saturday, Jul 05, 2008
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Life of Galileo - Intelligent design of the stars |
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| Life of Galileo - Intelligent design of the stars | ||
| Life of Galileo - Intelligent design
of the stars
by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer LIFE OF GALILEO BY BERTHOLD BRECHT, ADAPTED BY DAVID EDGAR DIRECTED BY ROSA JOSHI STARRING TIMOTHY HYLAND STRAWBERRY THEATRE WORKSHOP THROUGH NOVEMBER 18 Truly high-caliber theater can be found many places in Seattle, fortunately for all of us. One such company, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, has recently joined forces with the theater department at Seattle University, using their lovely remodeled space, The Lee Center for the Arts. Strawshop's latest production, Life of Galileo, is a many-charactered play about the great astronomer/physicist Galileo Galilei. Bertold Brecht, an internationally produced playwright of the World War II era, wrote this sprawling critique of religious suppression of scientific thought. Strawshop is using a very modern adaptation/translation that brings with it an air of freshness and contemporary politics. Galileo, in the 1600s, continued the religious heresy of Copernicus, who said the Earth revolved around the Sun, not the other way 'round. The Church of Rome was terrified of this idea, because it was thought to invalidate the whole concept of "heaven" and that God made Man special and that Man was the supreme creation of the entire universe. Torture and the torching at the stake of people who proclaimed contrary principles to the church was commonplace. Science was thought to cast doubt upon religion. Doesn't that sound similar to ideas people speak of today? Timothy Hyland leads the ensemble as Galileo, a bombastic, stubborn man who thinks that reason trumps faith, if one would only just see the truth. Hyland robustly rants through the play, but when confronted with possible torture, seems to shrink from martyrdom to the cause of science. Could he have truly given in to the Church? Does he really mean that he was lying all along? Other strong cast members include Hana Lass, as Virginia, Galilei's daughter, whose life revolves around her father's reputation and, despite being a political pawn, stays loyal to him his whole life. Therese Deikhans, as a motherly servant, helps provide a common person's perceptions to Galilei's ideas, yet she, too, loyally serves him, despite the danger of being associated with him. Gabriel Baron plays Andrea, the servant's 10 year old son, whose appetite for science puts fear into his mother's breast. Baron ages during the play, deftly growing the boy to a man. Harmony Arnold's costumes and Dominic CodyKramers sound design subtly support the play. Sound during scene changes is particularly apt, applying different music to different scenes in understated emphasis. Set design by Carol Wolfe Clay, using metal scaffolding structures to sketch in the various surroundings, is gracefully mechanical, emphasizing the scientific subject. The production is a long one, clocking in at over 2 1/4 hours. That gives it time to explore many philosophical arguments both for and against science, debated today with as much fervor as 400 years ago. Brecht's imagining of ancient conversations is entertaining and provoking. Often, productions of his plays are done with a certain "Brechtian" style, which might keep an audience slightly disconnected from his words. This production, and perhaps the new translation, break the mold of that style. The play is engaging and intelligent and contemporary. For more information, go to www.strawshop.org or call (206) 427-5207. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com. |
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| Halloween on Capitol Hill
Slide Show photos by Joey - SGN photographer |
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