First and foremost - this is not the Antigone I know. It is better.

As a former English major, I am no stranger to Seamus Heaney, and in fact, I nerded out over him being in town earlier in the week to attend opening night and give a talk with Joe Dowling. Ask around, I actually squealed. However, I was a stranger to Burial, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. There is a part of me that thinks I should have known better given the caliber of Heaney's talents, but I would be a liar if I claimed otherwise. In short, through a perfect blend of modern and ancient language, Heaney makes the story of Antigone timeless.

As I mentioned, this is not the story I read while entwined in the world of the literary academic. That story was about a strong female character, in essence, fighting the man and has been analyzed to death (no pun intended). While that too happens in this adaptation, the significance is muted. Take, for instance, the title: The Burial at Thebes. By removing Antigone's name from the title, Heaney suggests that there is something bigger at hand, and he is right. The play starts with a burial of brothers, but the true burial as seen by the audience is the burial of Thebes itself. We are reminded of this by the choice of set - the dimly lit catacombs serve as a morbid backdrop to the fall of a king, the fall of the bloodline of Oedipus, and the failure of the law of the land. Thebes is buried in grief.

Regarding the performances, I think the cast was a huge win. This is one of the more diverse casts I've seen, and that really opens the play in terms of audience accessibility.

Sun Mee Chomet has a fire in her that Antigone child of doom herself would revere. There was something in particular about her that resonated with me, and while I cannot touch on it completely, I think it may have something to do with sympathy. When she cries out in distress and begs the question: When could I get another brother? I turned to my right and looked at my own brother wondering "what would I do if I were her?" Chomet encompasses Antigone in such a way that I was able to relate to her very well.

Stephen Yoakam, on the other hand, has hubris down pat. He is both wild and earnest in his role, and every bit convincing as a stern and overwhelmed ruler. This is a testament to his skill as an actor because when I had the opportunity to meet him in the lobby after Much Ado, he was strikingly calm and approachable. In reality, that is the great thing about local actors. They are remarkably talented but lack stuffy New York egos. Cheers to the Midwest!


However, what sticks with me most is not the power of Sun Mee Chomet, nor the ferocity of Stephen Yoakam, it is the chorus. For the first time someone got it right. Heaney + Steele = BIG WIN TEAM! This is ALWAYS how I imagined the Greek chorus should sound, but I could never connect with the disjointed, overly-stylistic poetry of Sophocles... until now. In this production the chorus is not background commentary, but pure unadulterated power. It truly is the music and sound of the play that bring Drama with a capital D to the stage. The booming of the drum, the combination of Robinson's gospel sound with the rich, doom-invoking vocals of Joe Nathan Thomas, and the language of Heaney completely sucked me in. Once that happened, which didn't take long, I was in Thebes.


In fact, during Tiresias' (Greta Ogelsby) thunderous prophecy, I found myself staring wide-eyed at the stage, grasping my own arms in suspense.

"MY SECOND SIGHT SCARES ME... and should scare you," Ogelsby boomed. I wanted to shout back, "IT SCARES ME TOO!"

At this point, I couldn't help but sit back and say to myself "Well, I am completely bought in". I even had chills during the final scene! The fact that I was sitting directly underneath an air vent is inconsequential. The point of the matter is that this play, more than most, engulfed me.

Go see it. Seriously.

Later days, let madness loose.