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Review: The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis, produced by Quintessence Theatre Group, reviewed by Wendy Rosenfield.

    by Wendy Rosenfield
    Published 

By Wendy Rosenfield

for the Inquirer

Since the 1969 premiere of Steven Berkoff’s adaptation of The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa--you know, he woke from troubled dreams, found himself transformed in his bed--has had some impressive interpreters. Tim Roth, Roman Polanski, Mikhail Baryshnikov, all scuttled the stage as the unfortunate traveling salesman in Franz Kafka’s novella. Mt. Airy’s Quintessence Theatre Group sends Gregor through yet another transformation: this time, he is played by Kristen Bailey, a woman.
Quintessence has also seen some changes. What began as an outpost in a theatrically underserved area has become fully integrated into Philly’s theater scene. Thus, this production’s cast and crew includes members of the Bearded Ladies, Applied Mechanics, New Paradise Laboratories and The Riot Group (technically New York, but with deep Philly ties) troupes, and regulars from some of the city’s other mainstages. Philly’s creative cross-pollination is one of its best civic traits, and even when it’s not entirely successful, it’s always interesting.
That’s also the case here, with director Rebecca Wright taking rewarding risks with the show’s visual appeal and stylized movements, but also losing some of the absurdist humor in Berkoff’s script. Then again, Wright also trades Berkoff’s more didactic, Marxist elements (pig masks, for one) to illuminate the human tragedies hiding behind all that fancy footwork. But the footwork’s still pretty cool. When Bailey’s Gregor first confronts her sister Greta, she becomes a horrifying composite of three performers, all flapping leg-wings, arching back, wide eyes, unhinged jaw and wiggling arms.
Colin McIlvaine’s set, a quirky manila-colored jumble of walls, windows and chairs, is cross-hatched with patchy strips that indicate poor Gregor’s gravity-defying indoor travels. Adriano Shaplin’s sound design strikes ominous tones and layers Gregor’s attempts at speech until they’re a cacophonous screech. Katharine Fritz’s costumes echo the set’s monochromatic tans and add some cockroach brown--the better to help Bailey transform from androgynous employee and family workhorse to the creepy-crawly thing she becomes. 
Of course, while her supporting cast includes standouts such as Doug Hara, as Gregor’s bombastic Freudian nightmare of a father, and Gracie Martin’s Greta, who goes through her own molting process--a soft, sweet thing that hardens with self-interest--it’s Bailey who anchors the piece. Not quite male or female, human or insect, parent or child, wanted or unwanted, she’s heartbreakingly alone, and while the story’s political message gets less attention, Gregor’s more universal existential agonies are displayed for all to see. It’s tough to look away, even if, much like Gregor, they’re not a pretty sight.

Playing at: Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Through Sun., Mar. 1. Tickets: $15 to $34. Information: 215-986-4450 or QuintessenceTheatre.org

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    Wendy Rosenfield