The director has chosen to set this story in a Sahara-like landscape, with an industrial looking wall upstage. Bereft of color and bleak, we don't know where we are -- Afghanistan? Certainly not Greece, as the script claims. Some nowhere land, some hell for the human spirit. The Corinthian Woman (Mary Lou Rosato) is portrayed as a crazy homeless woman; interesting choice, not sure what to make of it. The chorus are a bunch of women in tight jackets and pants who move and speak in military precision. (Diction is outstanding for all characters but one, an old soldier.) Then Medea enters and pulls her cowl off to reveal herself in a red dress with a butch haircut, looking more like Jamie Lee Curtis than Annette Bening. This is something of a disappointment; I suppose they shot the publicity photos long before rehearsal but I found her long hair, kohl rimmed eyes and malevolent stare intriguing in the brochure, it may even be why I bought tickets. This Medea seems much more menopausal, or like a cancer victim in her last stages of denial. Ms. Bening's performance is effective yet curious; she never seems less than in charge of a moment, you never see the bitter poison of rejection eating away at her. What you do see is a big commanding performance of a self-assured actress who can manipulate her voice effectively. If this is all you want for an evening of theatre you will not come away unsatisfied, but I was puzzled by the actress's curtain call when she came bounding onto the stage all fun and frivolity, whirled the director around waved girlishly at the audience as if to say, "See? I'd never kill my own kids!" It was a moment of disconnect that perhaps explained why I never fully felt the emotional pain of her character. I didn't expect her to come staggering onstage like Zoe Caldwell (who I saw in Medea years ago) looking pained and drained as if to say, "See how I suffer, even now?" But it was a telling moment which confirmed my suspicion that she had not let the character in..
The high theatrics of the production are what make me recommend it. It had the kind of ambiance you can only find in the theatre. By the way, I brought my 14 year old daughter, an aspiring actress, who was underwhelmed.