BWW Reviews: AN ILIAD at The Seattle Rep

The Seattle Rep has capped off what has already been a stellar season with yet another gem, the world premiere of a brand new work from Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson of their one man interpretation of "An Iliad".  But before we get to me gushing about how amazing the show is, let's have a refresher class.  Open your textbooks to page 414.

The story based on Homer's "The Iliad", as most of us know from high school, follows the 9 year war between the Greeks, led by King Agamemnon and the half God Achilles, and the Trojans led by Hector, son of King Priam.  But don't expect a big spectacle complete with sword fights and a cast of thousands.  Our story is presented to us by one lone man on a nearly bare stage.  The man, referred to only as "The Poet" and who looks like a wandering tramp, enters the stage to share with us this tale which he has "sung" many times before.  And thus begins our journey as we watch this one damaged soul transform himself into an entire war.

Now onto the gushing.  "An Iliad" is a mesmerizing, stunning and genius piece of work from three masters at the top of their game.  O'Hare, a Broadway veteran and one of the most exciting actors on Broadway today, along with co-adapter and director Peterson, have crafted a gripping tale that goes well beyond its own (not so little) story and takes a look at war in general and in all its guises.  The tale of the war itself goes further than just the scorecard of the event and focuses on the people who are affected by it.  And no one seems to be more affected by it than the "poet" telling it played by one of Seattle's finest actors, Hans Altwies.  I have been a fan of Altwies for some time now.  His performance in "The Seafarer" at the Rep last Season was superb.  But Altwies has got to look at this performance as a crowning achievement in an already amazing body of work.  He switches from comedy, to heartache to absolute rage to near catatonia with the ease of a ninja stalking his prey.  You never see the next moment coming and once it does you are not jarred at all but right there with him.  And that's the key to Altwies; you want to be there with him for every second.  The man has the presence of 20 actors on that stage and shows himself to be a true storyteller.  The show could only be done with an exceptional actor and we can thank our lucky stars we have Altwies here in town.  But then, we almost had another dazzling actor instead of Altwies in the part.  It was initially announced that co-creator O'Hare was going to play the part.  And I can definitely hear much of his voice coming through the piece.  But when he had to back out due to scheduling conflicts, Altwies stepped up and showed he is more than up to the task.

Add into this a wonderful set design by Rachel Hauck (yes, it looks like a bare stage but every element of it was perfection) and an outstanding lighting design by Scott Zielinski, and the Rep has really managed to bring together the cream of the crop of Seattle theater.  Jerry Manning and Benjamin Moore have produced a season of theater as close to perfect as you can come.  I would almost suggest that they quit now as they will be hard pressed to top themselves this next season.  But then they've already announced a very promising line up starting with the 2009 Tony winning play, "God of Carnage".  They have proven that they know how to give Seattle truly great theater and "An Iliad" is no exception.  If you missed their earlier production of "Equivocation" then don't miss this.  If you didn't miss "Equivocation", don't miss this.  Really, just DON'T MISS THIS!  You'll be kicking yourself for years to come if you do.

"An Iliad" performs at The Seattle Repertory Theatre through May 16^th.  For tickets or information contact the Rep box office at 206-443-2222 or visit them online at www.seattlerep.org.

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