Playwright: Sophocles, translated by Nicholas Rudall]. At: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Tickets: 773-753-4472; CourtTheatre.org; $48-$68. Runs through: Dec. 11
Two citizens meet in ancient Athens. "So who will win the playwriting prize at the City Dionysia?" asks the first. "My heart's with Euripides," his friend replies, "but smart money is on Sophocles." "Oh, no!" exclaims the first, "Not Sophocles again!"
In a long life ( 496-406 BCE ) and brilliant career ( general, statesman and composer/poet ), Sophocles won more prizes than anyone, and he competed against both the older Aeschylus and the younger Euripides. Some say Sophocles is not as philosophical as Aeschylus nor as psychologically complex as Euripides, but his work has theatrical directness and forward motion that rival plays don't possess. Call it the popular touch, but it's why Sophocles' seven surviving plays ( out of 120 he may have written ) are performed more often than all other surviving Greek tragedies.
It's apparent in Electra, a late-career Sophocles work offered in a wonderful new translation by masterful Nicholas Rudall, who makes the English text rich in image but vigorous in language. He's made Electra neither too long ( 90 minutes ) nor too modern, retaining the chorus ( albeit reduced in size ) and its traditional role as observer and commentator. Even more agreeably, he and director Seret Scott preserve the musical element of Greek tragedy, so often completely missing in modern versions. At Court Theatre, the Chorus and Electra chant portions of the text and perform choreography ( by Tracy Walsh ) as they would have in 5th Century BCE Athens. Andre Pluess presumably is the composer, although only credited with Sound Design.
The story is drawn from mythology and already would have been known to the play's first audiences. It focuses on the messy aftermath of the Trojan War during which Agamemnon, the top Greek general, sacrificed his own daughter to insure victory. Returning home, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, in vengeance for the daughter ( and so she could marry her lover, Aegisthus ). Now, years later, Agamemnon's surviving daughter and son, Electra and Orestes, claim justice by murdering Clytemnestra ( beautiful, icy Sandra Marquez in a striking blue gown by Jacqueline Firkins ) and Aegisthus ( Michael Pogue ). The gods approve eventually, but that's another play.
The heart and soul of Electra is the recognition scene, in which Orestes ( Thomas J. Cox ) returns after years in exile, and reveals himself to Electra ( Kate Fry ), who has endured a wretched life as her mother's near-prisoner. She overflows with joy and becomes a girl again in a remarkable and passionate moment which Fry and Cox make profoundly moving.
The scenic design ( Scott Davis ) is a plantation mansion with numerous louvered doors and kudzu. It's rather Tennessee Williams at first, but quickly becomes the traditional Greek palace hiding secrets behind closed doors, a vital part of this vivid production.