Cast members Jason Solis, from left, Dee Donasco, and Chris Harrison perform a scene from “Orpheus in the Underworld” during a dress rehearsal Thursday evening in the Bob Hope Theatre. (Photo Coutesy of Meadows School of the Arts)
Call me cliché, but the show must go on.
Despite four long days of snow and ice, two scrapped shows, and a series of cancelled dress rehearsals, SMU’s production of “Orpheus in the Underworld,” still managed to hit the stage on Saturday night at Bob Hope Theatre in the Owens Art Center.
The opera buffa, which is a modern take on the 18th century cult classic of the same name, follows the mangled relationship of Hollywood’s “it” couple of the moment Erydice and Orpheus.
When Eurydice, an aging Hollywood has-been, wants to leave her husband, the supposed to be suave and debonair celebrity violinist, Orpheus, things get a little complicated.
Eurydice, played two show-stealing proportions by Katrina Galka, finds herself in an affair with the hippy stock character of Aristeus, who is really just Pluto, god of the underworld, in disguise. Like all things coming from the underworld, Pluto has a trick up his sleeve. Right when Eurydice is ready to run off with her supposed to be lover Aristeus, the scheming Pluto lures her into the bowels of Hades.
Forced by Public Opinion, an actual character in the show played by Cara Nowling, Orpheus has no choice but to try to save his wife from Pluto’s grasp, while at the same time saving his reputation from Nowling’s ever-present character.
To save his wife, Orpheus enlists the help of Jupiter, king of the gods, played by the uproarious Njabulo Mthinkhulu. As king of the gods, Jupiter has a cast of godly children including Cupid, Mars and Mercury, all whom he invites with him to Hades to rescue Eurydice.
Once the entire cast finds themselves in the underworld, that’s when things start getting interesting.
Being a modern take of an old opera, “Orpheus in the Underworld,” is plagued with celebrity clichés that somehow never get annoying. From bold tabloid headlines used as the set to the pre-Madonnas that are the male and female leads, the opera makes a clear stance against all things celebrity.
As already stated, the play’s female lead is performed to near perfection by Katrina Galka. With mile-high hair, and a somewhat boozy façade, Galka’s high notes were the highlights of the night. In a particular number, one that involves Jupiter as a deceiving fly, Galka stole the show with her comedic gestures and spot-on vocals.
As good as the female lead was, it was a shame to see such a lack of male support for her part, particularly in that of her on-stage husband Orpheus, played by Paul Kroeger.
Kroeger was not bad, no, not at all, but his sometimes-muted vocals and under-convincing acting left me desiring much more. Imagine the show with two characters as grand as Galka’s, both pitted against each other but forced to stay together, fireworks surely would fly. Instead, the audience was left with just almost a spark.
While Kroeger may have been lacking in the area of robustness, his co-star, god of the underworld Pluto, played by Jason Solis, had some in excess.
With a devilish laugh and deviant demeanor, Solis’ approach to all things evils was quite refreshing. Instead of being this dark, aggressive character, Solis was playful. Yes, that’s right, I just said the Devil was playful. It felt as if Solis actually enjoyed playing the villain and that the entire plot was just a fun game that he was a part of. Regardless if Solis’ Satan was harsh enough or not, it was obvious that the audience loved him, as they ate up everything Solis was dishing out.
“Orpherus in the Underworld,” ends with a riot of a final act that features the characters doing the can can, wearing more boas than a burlesque show, and dancing as if they belonged in a Disney Channel series. It was truly a sight that could only have been seen. Frankly, “Orpheus in the Underworld,” is the perfect mix of a musical and an opera that more than heated up the stage on a cold winter’s night.
