By JAMES D. WATTS JR. Scene Writer on Feb 18, 2012, at 2:23 PM Updated on 2/18 at 2:23 PM
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Aristophanes’ comedy “The Frogs” has been around since 405 B.C., but it receives a bit of modernization in the production that the Midwestern Theater Troupe opened Thursday at the Nightingale Theater.
This new twist is the translation of the original Greek text by Tulsan Amy Page, which that tries to bring an edgier, more outrageous tone to this ancient story of drunken gods, dead poets, bizarre journeys and odd contests.
In that, Page’s translation more than succeeds. The humor and language gets a bit blue, and wisecracks about sexual proclivities and bodily functions abound.
But the show succeeds in other ways, as well. It tells the story of the play clearly, and stages each scene with the sort of inventiveness, energy and sly humor that is a hallmark of this company’s productions.
The Nightingale gang knows very well that theater is inherently artificial, especially when it tells stories about boat rides to Hades accompanied by a chorus of frogs singing, “Brekekekéx-koáx-koáx!” They don’t try to mask that artifice — it’s part of the charm, lending an air of childlike glee even to those productions that are (like “The Frogs”) definitely for adults only.
Read the full review Monday. "The Frogs" plays at 8 p.m. Saturday and Feb. 23-25 at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St. Tickets are $10 at the door, cash only.
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