Third Eye’s modern, militarized ‘Beowulf’ swims with the monsters within us
Noah Gartner as Beowulf
Photo by Clint Funk
When people hear “Beowulf”, many are taken back to high school English class, trying to sort through the epic verse about a hypermasculine warrior ripping arms off demons, or a fierce competitor swimming for seven days straight while battling sea monsters, or an aged king facing off against a dragon one last time for his kingdom. That is, if they even read it in school. Others will hear “Beowulf” and think nothing at all, or maybe feel like they should know that name from somewhere.
Third Eye Theatre Ensemble production of Han Lash’s operatic Beowulf takes that myth of old, a story spanning over fifty years, and distills it into a tight—possibly too tight—sixty minutes that humanizes its Herculean hero into a retired military doctor, traumatized from his past and doing his best to hold onto the present and his responsibilities therein. Among those responsibilities: caretaking for his ailing mother, whose sense of the present is confused, paranoid for her son and herself. In the opera, this manifests in her intense fear and hatred for her nurse, who she believes is trying to kill her.
Both Beowulf and his mother, portrayed by Noah Gartner and Angela Born, respectively, hone in on their tortured characters through their emotional acting. Their inner thought processes are clearly seen in the moments of tense silence between characters, which make the moments where they do sing (or speak, in a few cases) all the more earned. Well-decorated opera singers, Gartner and Born prove mastery over their craft with their rich, clear voices, geared towards storytelling. With heartfelt moments supported by director Rose Freeman and intimacy director Toni Machi, there is a clear, bittersweet relationship between mother and son that really gets to the heart of the opera.
The characters’ inner turmoils are also reflected beautifully in the production’s set, designed by Sam Stephen. Household objects and medical equipment hang from the rafters of the theater, creating a chaotic environment. One gets the feeling that each character has these props hanging over them, threatening to crash down on their fragile attempt at carrying on. The set is bordered with broken wood stuffed with more eclectic objects (a device cleverly used by the actors to retrieve usable props), which creates the feeling of a warzone, from which Beowulf cannot quite escape.
Lighting, designed by David Goodman-Edberg, bolsters the set’s effects with realistic and moody lighting, an element that, once again, provides insight into Beowulf and his mother’s thoughts and how trapped they feel because of them.
Being a chamber opera, the music is where the production undoubtedly shines. Lash’s libretto holds the production precariously in balance, the unpredictable, sometimes wild melodies revealing the whirling hurricanes beneath the surface of each character, even when their lyrics are altogether ordinary. The music is expertly executed by the small orchestra conducted by Alexandra Enyart.
Third Eye’s ambitious production commits to transcending the fiction, drawing parallels from the age-old myth to society’s contemporary heroes: teachers, military service members, healthcare providers, mothers. In the program, they provide an Acknowledgement of Veterans, in which they “hope this performance serves to educate and spark greater empathy” for veterans and their families “bravely navigating mental health struggles from military service.” True to their word, the company is donating $1 per every ticket sold to PAWWS, a nonprofit organization partnering service dogs with combat veterans to help them re-acclimate to civilian life.
Beowulf runs through September 11th at The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. For tickets or more information, please visit thirdeyete.org.
