THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160722
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A young cast meets a very old play at Norfolk State, as a new batch of drama students tackles Sophocles' great classic, ``Oedipus.''
The production shows a lot of earnest effort and potential for important growth is clearly present in every student who takes the stage.
Some familiar faces mix with the less-experienced students. Veterans of several seasons at Norfolk State, such as Brad Breckenridge and E. Jeannelle Henderson, have some advantage when handling the difficult verse, but newcomers Kareem Wilson and Omar Williams are among those who also acquit themselves quite well.
Wilson plays the title role, the doomed king of ancient Thebes. He has a rich, deep voice suited to the part, and he carries himself with a natural nobility that helps make the story believable.
Henderson has the part of Jocasta, the wife and queen who turns out to be Oedipus' mother. Like Wilson, she invests her character with a sense of natural dignity. If one wished to find fault with her casting, it is simply that she looks nowhere old enough to have borne this Oedipus.
When Henderson denounces the worth of the supernatural prophecies which foretell the strange destiny of a man fated to kill his father and mate with his mother, or later when she pleads with her husband not to inquire too much into his own past, she brings a convincing fervor to her role.
Williams plays the blind prophet Teiresias. He will continue to be an important part of Norfolk State productions for several seasons to come.
Breckenridge is cast as Creon, brother to Jocasta and heir to the kingdom after Oedipus.
While the script guarantees that Wilson and Henderson dominate the show, the set and costumes are especially memorable. More than the acting, they may set ``Oedipus'' apart from anything else Norfolk State has done recently.
The palace that dominates the scenery gives the impression of being a Grecian structure transplanted to equatorial Africa. The exterior has the conventional columns supporting its portico, but it is colored a rich yellow, trimmed with green and red. The shapes of leaves that decorate it echo the numerous plants which stand on the ground level of the stage.
The intense colors and the foliage impart a sense of lush growth and fertility, and of a hot climate where hot-tempered men like Oedipus rule.
The setting was a project of a scene design class. The program credits Cathy Opfer with a lobby display of a set model and a stage floor plan. The costumes, richly varied and colorful, were designed by Henderson.
Vanessa Y. Edge is listed as the artistic director.
The particular achievement of this cast is the clarity with which they relate the tale of the proud, short-tempered Oedipus, laid low through these tragic flaws by the implacable hand of fate. Such clarity is not easy to achieve, and for this and their courage in choosing this difficult script the Norfolk State players deserve thanks. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB