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Mooncycle Theatre Wyrzuc
Originally published in Letter eX (April 1993)
Links Hall Through August 9th at Cafe Voltaire
Reviewed by David Gecic
A recent showing of Mooncycle, a play loosely based on a poetry book by Effie Mihopoulos, was extremely disappointing. Theatre Wyrzuc, the poetic theater company which put on the performance, had recently done an excellent production of Jumping at 65 M.P.H., which I had the opportunity to review in a previous issue of Letter eX. Theatre Wyrzuc has been together since November of 1991. Beside the poetic play Jumping at 65 M.P.H., they have previously done the productions Perished,Slumber Party in a Dangerous Land, and Fiesta Boy in a 10 Joint Time. Their productions have dealt with a variety of issues, from child abuse to date rape. Instead of focusing on how these issues affect society, they focus on how these issues affect the individual. Their previous production Jumping at 65 M.P.H. had a high standard of writing, the acting was professional and the piece worked very well as poetic theater. Mooncycle did not work well as poetic theater.
Mooncycle the play has run at several different theaters. The show which I saw was at Links Hall. It has also been shown at The Blue Rider Theater, Woman Made Gallery, and Cafe Voltaire, where it will be running until August 9th, Sundays at 4:30 and Mondays at 7:00.
Mooncycle the play is about a girl named "Effie Morgan". It follows her life, as she grows into adulthood. It shows her childhood friendships, the breakup of these friendships, the death of her mother, and the death of a friend. Jackie Ingram plays Effie, the young girl who grows up during the play. Ingram is believable as the main character Michelle Zanko and Andrea Stark, who have appeared in previous Theatre Wyrzuc productions, did the best acting jobs of the cast, as Effie's friends Sarah and Rose. They brought life into their roles. Stark has moments in which her acting is lively. Michelle Zanko defines the attitude of the character Sarah well.
One of the biggest problems with the characters, however, is the fact that there are no introductions for most of them. The audience has to consult their programs to figure out who is who. With eight actors on the stage, some of them playing multiple roles, this becomes very confusing.
Mooncycle is a good book of poetry. There are many poems which weave interesting images together. However, Mooncycle the book cannot be considered a poetic "work". It is a "collection" of poems. All the poems are loosely based on the allegorical theme of the moon. This is the only unifying factor which connects the poems. Unfortionately, Mooncyclce the book does not fit into the storyline that Mooncycle the play is presenting. The poetry does not contribute directly to the story. It appears that the emotions expressed in the poetry may be similar to the appropriate emotions expressed that the characters in the play are experiencing, but a direct one-to-one correspondence is needed for the plot line.
When it appears from the action of the characters that Effie is meeting her friends for the first time, they express themselves with the following verses.
How far the moon is
such a distant toy,
and how it tempts you
sitting up there in the dark sky,
to reach it,
it moves around you like a halo,
a series of connected patterns like a line of dancers,
what fluid garcefulness as it progresses through its phases,
each classic variation repeated ritually,
month after month
This section contains some very good moon imagery, but has nothing to do with the play. It may have been put in to establish an atmosphere, but there is far too much material like this, with no connection to the rest of the play.
Another banter between Effie and her friends comes from Mihopoulos' poem "On the subject of Interviews":
you sit inside the moon
like a racer inside a car:
does your face get dirty under your visor
when you drive too fast?
do the muscles in your arms tense
till you can't move?
do you think of trophies
often
or not at all?
This poem does have the general theme of people thinking about their future, but it is too generalized and does not deal with the specific characters in the play.
If the director/editor would have done some rewriting of Mihopoulos' work then the play would have been a lot more effective. Most of the poems in the play are reproduced exactly from the book. This would have been an excellent idea if this was a reading of poetry, but expecting the poetry to simply fit into the plot line is too much to ask.
Effie Mihopoulos' book Mooncycle is a good book of poetry. Theatre Wyrzuc is a good production company, they have shown this with their production of Jumping at 65 M.P.H., Unfortunately, Theatre Wyrzuc and The Mooncycle don't mix.
Theatre Wyrzuc's next production will premiere at the Hot House on August 4th. It will be called "The Wo' before the Man". Hopefully, this production will be up to Theatre Wyrzuc's potential.