Shakepeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theatre

Walking into the Shakespeare in the Park performance at the Delacorte Theatre, the vampire-esque music in the background let the audience know right from the start that the Greek play, The Bacchae by Euripides, was going to be dramatic.  A tragedy?  Yes, but also a horror story.

The story centers on a government that has outlawed love. The horror comes in when the people get a visit from the god of wine, Dionysus (also called Bacchus, and very well played by Jonathan Groff), and they refuse to worship him by joining in drink and revelry. This is when Dionysus’s possessed worshipers, called the Bacchae, descend to terrorize the Greek town of Thebes.

It was a small cast, except for the dozen women who made up the Greek chorus. And the chorus was a large part of what made The Bacchae at Shakespeare in the Park so good. They served as the narrators, and a bridge between scenes; they commented on the story so far, and told the audience what to think and believe. Everything they expressed, naturally, was sung. They sat in the back during every scene, and made gestures to represent what the characters were talking about, or repeated important words.

Although this play was written a long time ago, the production was quite modern; the set had futuristic tiling across the floor, with a thin pool of water at the front of the stage, and slanted metal stadium bleachers across the back. Dionysus wore jeans and a t-shirt, and the live music was a mix of ancient sounds with modern beats. Another thing that made this production interesting was that it was partially sung, partially spoken, but all still with the original words.

I was expecting a clear moral to the story, but it was a little ambiguous. You could interpret it two ways, depending on whom you agree with. You could either say that the moral of the story is to worship someone who says they are a god, or bad and gruesome things will happen to you, or don’t listen to someone who says they are a god or you will end up going crazy and committing crimes.

Either way, something violent is going to happen.

The Bacchae wasn’t all dark and scary. There were moments of comedy, and even cross-dressing, but the ending was what made the lasting impression of a horror movie.

It might not be everyone’s perfect way to spend a Wednesday night, but if you like an ancient Greek classic with a dark edge, go see The Bacchae.