[NEohioPAL] MEDEA "riveting" at Actors' Summit

[Thackaberr at aol.com]

‘Medea ‘ is ‘riveting’ on Actors’  Summit  stage
By David Ritchey  
HUDSON — Revenge is  best served cold ... or so the legend goes.  
But in “Medea,” revenge is served  hot.  
Euripides wrote “Medea,” which is  on stage at Actors’ Summit Theater 
through Nov. 4. This local production is the  translation and adaptation by Robinson 
Jeffers (1887-1962), and this is the  edition many of us studied in school. 
Yet, when brought to the stage, this is  nothing like what I saw in my mind’s 
eye when I read the script. I’ve seen  “Medea” on the stage several times, and 
the Actors’ Summit production is the  most riveting production of “Medea” I’
ve seen.  
This production has several things  going for it. First, Jeffers’ adaptation 
and translation makes the Greek tragedy  accessible to the audience. Every 
plot point is easily understood.  
Second, Neil Thackaberry (director  and lighting design) brings the story 
directly to the audience. The members of  the audience cannot look away or avoid 
what is happening on the stage.  
The story concerns the perfect  marriage of Medea (Sally Groth) and Jason 
(Daniel Taylor). They have two  children (Mika Takahashi and Kai Takahashi). 
However, Jason takes a fancy to the  daughter of Creon (David McNees), the ruler, 
and thinks marriage with Creon’s  daughter will lead him to wealth and power 
and make him the ruler. So Jason  deserts Medea.  
Medea grows mad at Jason’s  unfaithfulness. She plots revenge, and her 
revenge is not served cold. Medea  makes revenge white hot and flaming.  
In the style of the Greek tragedy,  the audience is told about the revenge, 
since Medea’s revenge could not be  staged.  
Medea is cared for by her nurse  (Paula Duesing), who gives her advice and 
attempts to help her get past her  grief at the loss of Jason and the 
destruction of their home. But the nurse can  only vaguely imagine that Medea is capable 
of revenge.  
Groth has appeared in almost 20  productions at Actors’ Summit. In this 
production, she comes into her  own as one of the most powerful actresses in this 
area. The audience can watch  her slowly go mad and commit unthinkable acts to 
make her revenge possible.  
Groth has a beautiful speaking  voice that has a wide range. She can easily 
move from her happy and bright upper  registers to a threatening, frightening 
lower register. In this production, she  extends her arms to embrace the women 
of Corinth and clasp them to her. She prowls the  stage like a tiger, ready to 
pounce and dish out major servings of revenge.  
This Medea is beautiful, coy,  flirtatious and dangerous. She comments 
several times that she knows how to mix  powerful potions and she knows curses. 
Jason never took her powers seriously.  
Taylor makes Jason  almost naïve. This Jason thinks Medea will be happy that 
he has come into a  fortune, although this is accomplished by deserting his 
wife and marrying  another woman. Jason lets his life slowly slip away without 
realizing that he  will bring Medea’s revenge on himself.  
Duesing, again, is a pleasure to  watch as she paces the stage providing the 
exposition and plotting ways to  rescue Medea from her pain of separation from 
Jason.  
Mika, 8, and Kai, 5, Takahashi are  believable as the children of Jason and 
Medea. Audiences should look forward to  watching these young performers 
develop their acting skills over the years.  
The cast is excellent. The leading  roles easily become the most obvious. 
However, Scott Thomas (the slave) only has  a short scene yet makes the terrors 
he has seen visible to the audience.   
MaryJo Alexander (costumes and  props) dressed the cast in traditional Greek 
costumes. The women of Corinth are in shades of  black and gray. The nurse is 
in burgundy and black. Medea is in a blood-red  gown, decorated with gold 
trim, and she wears plenty of gold jewelry. Alexander  provides enough variety to 
make each character visually distinct.  
“Medea” plays for only about 100  minutes, without an intermission. Yet this 
is long enough to make revenge both  hot and cold. This stunning production 
demands our attention.  
For tickets, call (330) 342-0800.  
David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in  communications and is a professor of 
communications at The University of Akron.  He is a member of the American Theatre 
Critics Association.  




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