May 17, 2003

BY HEDY WEISS Theater Critic

The site could not be more stunning: Looking south to the Chicago riverfront, from a hidden space just beneath the Merchandise Mart, the city's skyscrapers form a glittering necklace in the distance, L trains snake through the landscape at regular intervals, and delicate trees sway along the banks as a group of pheasants preen beneath them.

Unfortunately, the weather could hardly have been less beautiful or cooperative, at least on the first two of five nights that the Museum of Contemporary Art presented "Odyssey," the outdoor dance-theater work by Dutch choreographer Beppie Blankert and composer Louis Andriessen.

Fans of ice fishing might not have minded sitting on bleachers as the temperature dipped into the 40s and a strong wind whipped through the space Thursday night. And frankly, the surprisingly full audience, which came dressed for the weather, had a far better time of it than the performers. Clearly flirting with pneumonia, the dancers and musicians made their way through the 65-minute piece dressed in the flimsiest of costumes--outfits that suggested the sunny Aegean but offered no protection against chilly, after-dark Chicago. Yet there are no limits, it seems, to what artists are willing to endure in the name of their art. So the show did go on.

The dancing and visual design were magnificent, even if the score (with vocal sequences set to excerpts from Homer's epic) was rather tedious, aside from some intriguing harmonic lines. And the finer points of the scenario were no doubt confusing unless you'd done your homework.

In addition to the text from Homer, which is sung (by sopranos Tony Arnold, Kirsten Hedegaard, Kristina Pappademos and Rebecca Richey), there is an actress, Dawn Mastin, who plays Penelope, the endlessly patient wife of the Greek warrior Odysseus. In a bit of time and personality warp that works remarkably well, she speaks the words of the unapologetically sensual and acid-tongued Molly Bloom--the lusty wife of Leopold Bloom, a more modern philanderer and more local traveler than Odysseus, and the central character in James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses. Perched high atop a gigantic, ballooning red skirt, with a scarlet umbrella above her head (and looking very much like Winnie in Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days"), this is a Penelope with a solidly monumental presence and sharp wit.

The leading dancers are superb. They include the wonderfully strong and lyrical John Taylor as the homeward-bound but perpetually distracted Odysseus, who at one point must lash himself to the mast of his ship to ward off the enticements of the Sirens; Nanine Linning, a dramatic redhead who portrays both Circe and Calypso with seductive grace, and the phenomenal Mirjam ter Linden, a tiny platinum blonde with the moves of a gymnast and the attack of a hummingbird, who embodies a fleet and passionate princess Nausikaa.

The duets between Odysseus and the women who lure him away from his voyage home are full of invention and moments of great expressiveness as Blankert transforms the vocabulary of contact improvisation into something both intimate and spectacular. The dancers often appear to be magnetized to each other--an apt sensation for this tale.

Appearing as the Sirens, who arrive dressed in elaborate wedding gowns, are four Chicago-based dancers--Julia Rhoads, Molly Shanahan, Lisa Wymore and Denise Zdenek.

The splendid costumes, by Paulette and Christine Boschung, have the contemporary chic quality of Netherlands' couture designs, but I wished the pair had created a second set using space-age materials lightweight enough to allow for free movement but also good at insulating against the cold.

This is an "Odyssey" for a warm midsummer's night. A lovely trip to be sure, but one taken too early in the season.

THEATER REVIEW

'ODYSSEY'

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED When: 8 tonight and Sunday night
Where: Wolf Point, Chicago River and Orleans
Tickets: $22
Call: (312) 397-4010