Penelope One Woman Show at Elision Playhouse

Penelope is a a one person musical created by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, and Eva Steinmetz that gives us another perspective on Homer’s The Odyssey. Rather than follow Odysseus on his ten year return journey after ten years of war, we see the story from the point of view of his wife Penelope who has been left behind to wait for 20 years. It’s a short show with no intermission, the program says 80 minutes, but it seemed to me it was even a bit shorter, which is wise. There are songs that lay out the basic situation, and ones that address her feelings about being made to wait and dealing with the the hundred plus suitors who wont leave her alone. It all works, but as a one person show that really is just dealing with internal thoughts for the most part, 80 minutes feels perfect, anymore and it might have felt like treading water. There are a couple of well placed moments where Penelope interacts with with the Cello player, Rae Wasson, who plays the Goddess Athena and a Pilgrim which adds a little action, via interaction, to the show.

The music is really lovely played by five musicians under the musical direction of Harrison Wade who’s on keyboards. Are there any instruments more poignant or able to evoke such longing in your core than those of the string family? Christine Wade is wonderful as Penelope, as the songs grapple with the complexity of the character she runs the gamut of emotions. At times sorrowful at other times cunning, snarky, bitter, but always intelligent. And as should come as no surprise her vocal skills are perfectly suited for the show, it’s always a treat to hear Wade sing. Rae Wasson the Cellist must also be an actor, if not she might consider giving it a go. The interactions though brief between Wade and Wasson are so good, you are left wishing there were more of those moments. It’s not that the show needs them, just that Wasson’s line readings and response are so good that you want more.

Penelope runs through August 17th at the Elision Playhouse in Crystal. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.elisionproductions.com/penelope

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