Metamorphoses (play)
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Metamorphoses
Written by
Characters
Date premiered
Place premiered
Original language
Genre
Mary Zimmerman
Myrrha
Midas
Hermes
Phaeton
Aphrodite
Erysichthon
Alcyone
King Ceyx
Orpheus
Eurydice
Therapist
Apollo
Baucis
Philemon
Ceres
Psyche
Eros
1996
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois
English
Drama, comedy
IBDB profile
IOBDB profile
Metamorphoses is a play by American playwright Mary Zimmerman adapted from the classic
Ovid poem, Metamorphoses. The play premiered in 1996 as Six Myths at Northwestern
University and later the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago. The play opened offBroadway in October 2001 at the Second Stage Theatre, and later transferred to Broadway on 21
February 2002 at the Circle in the Square Theatre. It opened again at the Lookingglass Theatre
Company in Chicago on 19 September 2012.[1]
Contents
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1 Contextual Information
2 Plot synopsis
3 Plot analysis
4 Character guide
5 Character analysis
6 Genre
7 Style
8 Theme/Idea
9 Spectacle
10 Language
11 Music
12 Sample production history[33]
13 About the author
14 Awards and nominations
15 References
16 External links
Contextual Information
Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses is based on David R. Slavitt's free-verse translation of The
Metamorphoses of Ovid. An early version of the play, Six Myths, was produced in 1996 at the
Northwestern University Theater and Interpretation Center. Zimmerman's finished work,
Metamorphoses, was produced in 1998.
Of the many stories told in Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, only the introductory "Cosmogony"
and the tale of Phaeton are from the first half of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story of Eros and
Psyche is not a part of Ovid's Metamorphoses; it is from Lucius Apuleius' novel
Metamorphoses[2] -- also called The Golden Ass -- and was included in Zimmerman's
Metamorphoses because, as Zimmerman herself said in an interview with Bill Moyers of NOW,
"I love it so much I just had to put it in."[3]
Metamorphoses was written and produced during a period of renewed interest in the life and
writings of Ovid. Other Ovid-related works in the same handful of decades include David
Malouf's 1978 novel, An Imaginary Life; Christoph Ransmayr's Die letzte Welt, 1988 (The Last
World, translated to English by John E. Woods in 1990); and Jane Alison's The Love-Artist,
2001. Additionally, Ovid's Metamorphoses were translated by A.D. Melville, Allen
Mandelbaum, David R. Slavitt, David Michael Hoffman and James Lasdun, and Ted Hughes—in
1986, 1993, 1994, 1994, and 1997, respectively.[4]
Plot synopsis
The play is staged as a series of vignettes. The order is as follows:

Cosmogony- Used to explain the creation of the world, as well as give the audience a
sense of the style and setting of the play. Woman by the Water, Scientist, and Zeus help
narrate how our world of order came from chaos, either by the hand of a creator or by a
"natural order of things."[5]
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Midas- The story is framed by the narration of three laundresses who tell the story of
King Midas, a very rich man. After shunning his daughter for being too disruptive during
his speech about caring for his family, a drunken Silenus enters and speaks of a far away
land capable of granting eternal life. Silenus later falls asleep, and Midas shelters him in
the cabana. Bacchus later comes to retrieve Silenus, and grants Midas a wish for his
graciousness towards Silenus. Midas asks for the ability to have whatever he touches turn
to gold. Midas accidentally turns his daughter into gold and is prompted by Bacchus to
seek a mystic pool that will restore him to normal. Midas leaves for his quest.

Alcyone and Ceyx- Also narrated by the three laundresses, this story depicts King Ceyx
and his wife Alcyone. Despite his wife's warnings and disapproval, Ceyx voyages into
the ocean to visit a far off oracle. Poseidon destroys Ceyx's ship. Ceyx is killed in the
process, unbeknownst to Alcyone who awaits on the shore. Prompted by Aphrodite,
Alcyone has a dream of Ceyx, who tells her to go the shore. With mercy from the gods,
the two are reunited. Transformed as seabirds, they fly together toward the horizon.

Erysichthon and Ceres- This story tells of a godless and sacrilegious man named
Erysichthon, who cuts down a tree sacred to the goddess Ceres. In an act of vengeance,
Ceres commands the spirit Hunger to make him captive to an insatiable appetite. After
eating endlessly and spending all his fortune on food, Erysichthon tries to sell his mother
to a merchant. His mother gets transformed into a little girl after praying to the god
Poseidon and escapes from the merchant. Erysichthon eventually succumbs to his endless
hunger and devours himself.
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Orpheus and Eurydice- The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is told twice. The first from
the point of view of Orpheus in 8 AD, who has just married his bride Eurydice. Eurydice
is bitten by a snake on their wedding day and dies. Orpheus, so distraught, travels to the
Underworld so that he might work out a deal to retrieve Eurydice. After singing a
mournful song, Hades is convinced to let Eurydice return with Orpheus on one condition:
Eurydice must follow Orpheus from behind and he cannot look back at her, and if he
should, she must stay in the Underworld forever. Orpheus agrees to the terms, and when
almost back to the living world, he doubtfully looks back, causing Hermes to pluck her
away. The action is repeated several times, resembling the memory that Orpheus will
have forever of losing his bride. The second time is told from the point of view of
Eurydice in the likeness of the Rainer Maria Rilke's style in 1908. After an eternity of this
repeated action, Eurydice becomes forgetful and fragile, tragically no longer
remembering Orpheus. She returns to the Underworld unknowing to Orpheus, the man
she loved so long ago.

Narcissus Interlude- A brief scene showing the character Narcissus catching a glimpse of
his own reflection in a pool. He becomes transfixed and becomes paralyzed. He is
replaced by a narcissus plant by his fellow castmates.

Pomona and Vertumnus- This story depicts a female wood nymph named Pomona and a
romantically shy Vertumnus. Pomona has refused the hands of many suitors and remains
alone. Vertumnus, in order to see her, disguises himself in a variety of costumes and tries
to convince Pomona to fall in love with him, although he doesn't reveal his true identity.
After telling the story of Myrrha, Pomona tells Vertumnus to take off his ridiculous
disguise, and the two become smitten in love.
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Myrrha- A story within the Pomona and Vertumnus story, Vertumnus tells the story of a
King Cinyras and his daughter Myrrha. After denying Aphrodite's love attempts many
times, Myrrha is cursed by Aphrodite with a lust for her father. Myrrha tries to control
her urges, but eventually falls to the temptation. With the help of her Nursemaid, Myrrha
has three sexual encounters with her father, each time keeping him drunk and blindfolded
so he wouldn't suspect her. The third time Cinyras takes off his blindfold and tries to
strangle Myrrha, who escapes and is never seen again. Rumors are mentioned of what
happened to her, but she is depicted as melting into the pool.
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Phaeton- This story is told about Phaeton in the form of Phaeton narrating his relationship
with his Father, Apollo, to the Therapist. With the Therapist adding her psychoanalytical
points, Phaeton tells the audience of a distanced relationship with his father. After
bullying from school, Phaeton goes on a journey to meet his father, who drives the sun
across the sky every day. Racked with guilt from fatherly neglect, Apollo allows Phaeton
to "drive" the sun across the sky as compensation for all the years of absence. Phaeton,
who constantly whines, drives the sun too close to the earth and scorches it. The
Therapist closes the scene in a monologue about the difference between myth and dream.

Eros and Psyche- "Q" and "A" essentially narrate a scene about Psyche falling in love
with Eros. Psyche and Eros remain silent during the whole interlude, but act out what Q
and A discuss. Eros and Psyche fall in love, as Q and A tell the audience that they might
wander in the darkness of loneliness until they blind themselves to personal romantic
desires and give into a deeper love. Psyche becomes a goddess and lives with Eros
forever.

Baucis and Philemon- The final story tells of Zeus and Hermes disguising themselves as
beggars on earth in order to know what its like to be human. After being shunned by
every house in the city, they are graciously accepted into the house of the poor married
couple, Baucis and Philemon. The married couple feeds the gods with a great feast, not
knowing the true identity of the strangers except that they are "children of God".[6] After
the feast, the gods reveal themselves and grant the two a wish. Baucis and Philemon ask
to die at the same time to save each other grief of death, and the gods respond by turning
their house into a grand palace and the couple into a pair of trees with branches
intertwined. At the end of the scene, Midas returns to the stage, finds the pools, washes,
and is restored. His daughter enters, healed, and the play ends with a redeemed Midas
embracing his daughter.
The stories as they are told in the classic Ovid tales
Characters
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Creation
King Midas
Alcyone and Ceyx
Erysichthon
Orpheus and Eurydice
Pomona and Vertumnus
Myrrha
Phaeton
Apollo
Eros and Psyche
Baucis and Philemon
Plot analysis
By definition, plot can be referred to as the deliberate selection and arrangement of the incidents
and actions that are outlined by the playwright.[7] When Metamorphoses is analyzed it is
important to realize that the plot is not a conventional arrangement and must be looked at instead
from a non-linear point of view.[8]
A linear dramatic action may be set as with the following steps: 1. A state of equilibrium 2. An
inciting incident 3. Point of attack of the major dramatic question 4. Rising action 5. Climax 6.
Resolution 7. New state of equilibrium.[9] These set of events are described as being of a wellmade play and follow a linear set of actions.[8] First one event, then the next and the following
one after that and so on and so forth. Metamorphoses does not follow this laid out set of steps
and no single analysis can make it follow this formula. However each of the separate stories
embedded within the play is in itself a "well-made play" within a play. Each story can be easily
followed and analyzed through a look at the seven parts already established. An example that can
easily demonstrate and lay out the structure is the story of Erysichthon described within
Metamorphoses.
The seven elements of this story can be seen as follows:
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State of Equilibrium - Erysichthon has no regard for the gods and does as he wishes
with no fear of punishment
Inciting Incident - Erysichthon tears down a tree that is beloved by the god, Ceres
Point of Attack of the MDQ (Major Dramatic Question) - Will Ceres avenge her
beloved tree and teach a valuable lesson about the power of the gods to Erysichthon?
Rising Action - Ceres sends a servant to look for Hunger, Ceres' servant finds Hunger,
Hunger embodies itself into Erysichthon, Erysichthon gorges on food
Climax - Erysichthon's hunger is so insatiable that he sells his own mother to a trader for
money to buy more food
Resolution - Finally, Erysichthon can no longer find any more food to eat and curb his
hunger so Ceres approaches him with a tray that holds a fork and a knife, Erysichthon sits
down and actually destroys himself
New State of Equilibrium - Erysichthon is no more and people are no longer left to
wonder or question the power of the gods
Each of the stories told within Metamorphoses can be analyzed in this fashion and it is even
worth noting the story of King Midas. His dramatic action can be followed over the entire length
of the play for we are introduced to his story in the beginning and are not subjected to the
resolution of his story until the end of the play and his story is actually the last one addressed in
the play.[10]
Character guide
Characters listed as in the script
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Woman by the Water: The narrator for the opening scene who poetically comments on
the creation of the world and man.
Scientist: In the opening scene, adorned in a white lab coat and holding earthly elements,
explains the scientific possibility of the creation of the world
Zeus: The Greek God, referred in the play as, "Lord of the heavens", who represents a
divine creator in the opening scene. Later, Zeus and Hermes disguise themselves as
beggars and find shelter in Baucis and Philemon's home.
Three Laundresses: Used as a narrative device as the three, unnamed women exchange
the stories of "Midas" and "Alcyone and Ceyx" as they are enacted on stage.
Midas and his Daughter: Midas is an exorbitantly rich king who is granted by Bacchus
the ability to turn anything he touches into gold. He accidentally turns his daughter into
gold in the first scene, and concludes the play by finding a sacred pool that restores
himself as well as his daughter to their original, healthy states.
Lucina: The goddess of childbirth.
Silenus: A follower of Bacchus who shows up drunk at Midas' palace. Midas treats
Silenus well, and because of his kindness is granted a wish of his choice.
Bacchus:Roman God of wine and partying. He grants Midas a gift for saving a follower
of his, the golden touch, though he warns Midas it is a very bad idea for a heavinly gift.
Ceyx, a King: King, husband of Alcyone, and Captain of a sea vessel. Dies at sea by
Poseidon's wrath. His body is later carried ashore by Hermes, and transforms into a living
seabird along with Alcyone.
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Alcyone: Ceyx's wife and daughter of Aeolus, Master of the Winds. Awaits for Ceyx's
return after his departure, sees false visions of Ceyx as prompted by Morpheus, and
finally is transformed into a seabird after Ceyx's body is finally returned to her.
Hermes: Son of Zeus. Returns Ceyx's body to Alcyone. Later accompanies Zeus to earth
disguised as beggars to "see what people were really like."[11]
Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty. Hears the prayers of Ceyx at sea when his ship is
sinking. Sends Iris, the rainbow, to the cave of Sleep, who will show Alcyone a vision of
Ceyx.
Erysichthon and his Mother: Erysichthon scorned the gods and found nothing sacred.
Was cursed by Ceres with an insatiable hunger after cutting down a sacred tree.
Erysichthon tries to sell his mother, who later turns back into a child by Poseidon's grace.
Erysichthon eventually eats himself, though the audience doesn't see it firsthand.
Ceres: Roman Goddess of the Harvest. Roman equivalent to Demeter. She sends Oread
to find Hunger so she can punish Erysichthon for cutting down her tree.
Oread: A nymph Ceres sends to find Hunger.
Hunger: Commanded, or rather permitted, to latch onto Erysichthon forever.
Orpheus: Husband of Eurydice. Travels to the Underworld to retrieve Eurydice after her
death. Hades agrees to her release on the condition that Orpheus doesn't look back at her
as they walk out of the Underworld; which Orpheus does. He is haunted with the memory
of losing his wife forever.
Eurydice: Wife of Orpheus who dies after stepping on a snake. She is eventually doomed
to the Underworld after Orpheus breaks his promise to Hades, and will spend as eternity
not remembering the face of her husband.
Vertumnus, God of Springtime: An admirer of Pomona and disguises himself in various
costumes in order to get close of Pomona. Tells the story of Myrrha to sway Pomona into
loving him.
Pomona, Wood Nymph: A skilled gardener who refused to have a lover. Finally falls for
Vertumnus after heeding his message and telling him to be himself.
Cinyras, a King: Father to Myrrha who eventually sleeps with her after being tricked by
the Nursemaid while being drunk and blindfolded.
Myrrha: Daughter of Kind Cinyras who denied Aphrodite so many times that Myrrha
was seized with a passion for her father. She eventually has three sexual encounters with
her father, the third of which he discovers her identity during intercourse. She flees and
her final whereabouts remain unknown.
Nursemaid: A servant who agrees to help Myrrha have sexual relations with her father.
Phaeton: Son of Apollo, who after many years of neglect, finally confronts his father,
convinces Apollo to let him have control of the sun, and burns the Earth. Phaeton reveals
his story to the Therapist.
Therapist: A psychologist who follows a Freudian example and psycho analyzes
Phaeton's story.
Apollo: God of the sun, music, and light. Father of Phaeton. At first he was hesitant to let
his son drive his chariot but eventually gave in.
Eros: Primordial god of love and lust. Depicted as blind, winged, and naked. Falls in love
with Psyche.
Psyche: The opposite character of Eros. Questions love's reason and eventually receives
love. Goddess of pure beauty.
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Q & A: Narrators of the Eros and Psyche scene. Q only asks questions and A answers
them. They discuss the relationship of love and the mind.
Baucis: A poor woman and wife of Philemon. Together they offer their homes to Zeus
and Hermes and are rewarded by being turned into trees to spare each other death.
Philemon: A poor man and husband of Baucis. Together they offer their homes to Zeus
and Hermes and are rewarded by being turned into trees to spare each other death.
Various Narrators: Members of the ensemble who take turns in narrating various
scenes.
Character analysis
Because of the mythic quality of the script, sometimes the players in the performance often
resemble "archetypes instead of characters."[12] Further stated, "enacting myth does not require
creating a plausible character, but rather an emblematic figure who demonstrates a particular,
identifiable human trait."[13]
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is told twice, each to emphasize both of their individual
stories and act like mirrors with reflecting stories of love and loss; the first being from Orpheus'
point of view from Ovid's tale from 8 A.D., then Eurydice's tale in 1908 inspired by German poet
Rainer Maria Rilke. It can be argued that Orpheus is an archetype for strong human emotion and
expressing it through poetry and music. Specifically with regards to music, it compliments
Orpheus' ability to only move forward in time, along with his feelings and mortal love. Although
they can repeat, as they do in the scene several times, they cannot turn back completely and be
the same. Zimmerman includes the line "Is this a story about how time can only move in one
direction?" to bring light to Orpheus' struggle.[14]
The Phaeton story offers the audience a look into his own consciousness as he narrates his own
story (not the case with most of the other stories). With the Therapist bringing a modern glimpse
of Freudian psychoanalysis, Phaeton's relationship with his father can be seen in new ways: "the
father is being asked to perform an initiation rite, to introduce his son to society, [and] to inscribe
him in a symbolic order." [15]
Because Midas frames the story at the beginning and later shows up at the end as a redeemed
man, the play ends with a sense of optimism due to his transformation into a more selfless man.
The character Eros, although attains many of the traits of the more popularized Cupid, is meant
to symbolize more than what's typically thought of. In the play, "A", Psyche, interprets why "Q",
Eros, is dressed is naked, winged, and blindfolded: he is naked to make our feelings transparent,
he is winged so he might fly from person to person, and he blindfolded to encourage us to see
into each others hearts.[16] The notion of Cupid being blindfolded as making random and
foolhardy choices is dismissed as Psyche states the line, "He is blind to show how he takes away
our ordinary vision, our mistaken vision, that depends on the appearance of things."[17]
Genre
Since the Metamorphoses is derived from literary texts, productions of Zimmerman's may be
classified in the genre of Readers Theater. Readers Theater is meant to present a narrative text,
like a poem, to an audience rather than a typical play script. Readers Theater generally follows
the presentational form of theater, rather than representational, often relying on narrators to bring
insight from an outside perspective to a character. The presentational aspect is thought to
universalize the performance by creating a direct and intimate link between the audience and the
narrator. Readers Theater also calls for less theatrical devices, such as costumes, sets, and props
in order to better focus on the story and the language.[18] Metamorphoses generally follows these
methods by using multiple narrators, who both tell and comment on the story, and uses language
that is strongly rooted in the David R. Slavitt translation of Ovid's mythology.
In terms of more classic genres, Metamorphoses acts as a hybrid by containing elements of
various genres including comedy, classic tragedy, and drama, but not necessarily limited to any
of them.[19] Metamorphoses borrows many aspects from the theater genre of opera in the sense
that it uses visual and aural illusions and achieving them in fairly simplistic ways.[19] It has been
said that Zimmerman was better able to capture the seriocomic elements of Ovid's tales than
most adaptations.[20]
Style
Being based on myths thousands of years old, Zimmerman and Metamophoses proves that these
stories are still have relevance and can be effectively experienced in modern times. The play
advocates that perhaps human beings haven't changed to the point of being unrecognizable
nearly two thousand years later, and Zimmerman has stated, "These myths have a redemptive
power in that they are so ancient. There's a comfort in the familiarity of the human condition."[21]
Zimmerman also generally gives the audience an objective point of view, perhaps to get a better
scope of the variety of stories and themes being told. An example of the objectivity of
Metamorphoses, in terms of plot, is during the Alcyone and Ceyx scene when the audience is
aware of Ceyx's death long before Alcyone learns of it. In terms of motifs, Metamorphoses can
become a little more subjective, especially in the themes of death and love. The play advocates in
favor of the concepts concerning death as a transformation of form rather than death as an
absence, which is typical in popular Western culture.[22]
Metamorphoses is a non-naturalistic play, and is presented as mythic rather than realistic.[23] The
use of myths essentially "lifts the individuals out of ordinary time and the present moment, and
places him in "mythic time"--an ambiguous term for the timeless quality myths manifest." [24]
The setting of the play isn't limited to just one specific location. For example, the pool on stage
transforms from "the luxurious swimming pool of nouveau riche Midas, the ocean in which Ceyx
drowns, the food devoured by Erysichthon, Narcissus' mirror, a basin to hold Myrrha's tears,
[and] the river Styx"[20] and that the pool, like the stories transcend realistic thinking and are
"suspended in space and time."[25]
The plot is constructed mostly by a series of vignettes, but is framed overall by a few narrative
devices. The opening scene essentially shows the creation of the world, or Cosmogony, not only
sets up the world that the following characters will live in, but the world itself. In terms of a
beginning and end within the stories themselves, King Midas frames them with his story of greed
at the beginning and his redemption at the last moments of the play. After being introduced as a
horribly selfish man, the other stories of the play get told and mask the lack of resolution within
the Midas story. Finally at the end, Midas who is "by this time long forgotten and in any case
unexpected--reappears, newly from his quest" with his restored daughter, and "on this note of
love rewarded and love redeemed, the play comes to an end.".[26] Through all the vignettes that
are portrayed, the audience is meant to leave not with the story of a few individuals, but rather to
know the power of human transformation in all forms.
Metamorphoses uses a combination of presentational and representational forms, including the
Vertumnus and Pomona scene, which is both acted out and tells the story of Myrrha. However,
when representation is used, it isn't meant to be a representation of real life, but simply a
rendition of a story. For the most part, the play follows a linear technique by having the sequence
of events in each individual story follow a rational chronological timeline. The Orpheus scene
strays from this, by repeating a portion of the same scene numerous times for the thematic
purpose to emphasize Orpheus' tormenting loss.
Zimmerman intended the play to build on a foundation of images. In a New York Times
interview, Zimmerman said, "You're building an image, and the image starts to feed you" as well
as, "When I approach a text, I don't do a lot of historical reading. It's an artificial world and I
treat it as an artificial world." [27] Zimmerman's plays have been described as "theater of images"
and compared to the style of the director Robert Wilson, Pina Bausch, and Julie Taymor.[28]
Zimmerman also uses the play as a "poetic bridge between myth and modernism" by creating a
hyrid of ancient Greek antiquities and modern American culture.[29]
Metamorphoses also focuses general concepts and emotions rather than on the individual
characters themselves.
Theme/Idea
The central idea of Metamorphoses is the concept of change. To "metamorphose" literally means
to change strikingly the appearance or character of something.[30] Metamorphoses is full of
instances of change, with each story told containing at least one example (Midas changing all he
touched to gold, Alcyone and Ceyx changing to seabirds, Baucis and Philemon changing to trees,
and so on).
This theme of change is strongly tied to the reliance of the play upon water. Not only does the
water change function throughout Metamorphoses, but water itself is described as "the most
protean (lit: diverse or varied) of elements"[31] In transforming her early version of
Metamorphoses, Six Myths, into its final form, the most important change was the addition of the
pool. According to David Ostling, Zimmerman's scenic designer, "She was looking for the
changing ability of water, the instantaneous nature of it, how it could go from still to violent and
back to calm." [32]
Zimmerman's Metamorphoses also examines the causes of change in human beings. In other
words, what can make a person become something completely different? The most prevalent
cause throughout Metamorphoses is love: The rich and powerful Midas becomes a humble
pilgrim traveling to the ends of the world out of love for his daughter; Alcyone and Ceyx are
transformed into seabirds because of their love for each other; Baucis and Philemon are turned to
trees at the moment of their death so that neither must live without the other. At the same time,
Metamorphoses warns of what happens when love is ignored. When Erysichthon cuts down a
sacred tree, showing that he loves only himself and not the gods, he is transformed into a man
consumed by hunger, until he eventually consumes himself. When the beautiful Myrrha scorns
the love of her suitors, the goddess Aphrodite curses her to love her father, causing her to sleep
with him in disguise. When she is discovered, she flees to the wilderness, where the gods
transform her into tears.[33]
The central idea of Metamorphoses can be defined as the changing power of love. Mary
Zimmerman herself stated that "[Metamorphoses] makes it easy to enter the heart and to believe
in greater change as well... that we all can transform."[34]
Spectacle
The primary feature in any production of Metamorphoses is the pool, which generally sits center
stage and occupies most of the stage. The pool is central to all of the stories told in Zimmerman's
Metamorphoses, though its function changes throughout. The pool becomes, at varying times in
the production, a swimming pool, a washing basin, the River Styx of the Underworld, and the
sea, amongst other items.[33] Aside from the pool, the stage consists of a platform bordering the
pool, a chandelier hanging above, a large depiction of the sky upstage and right of the pool, and a
set of double doors, upstage left of the pool. The stage has been described as "reminiscent of
paintings by Magritte and the dream states they evoke." [32]
The costumes of the play are described as "evocative of a generalized antiquity but one in which
such things as suspenders and trousers are not unknown."[31] Images of the play show actors
wearing costumes that range from classic Grecian togas to modern bathing suits, sometimes in
the same scene. This juxtaposition of old and new is particularly striking in the story of Midas, in
which Midas is shown wearing a smoking jacket while being confronted by a drunken reveler in
a half-toga and vine leaves in his hair.[32]
Language
The use of language in Metamorphoses is to set up the fantastic yet easy to relate to world that
will be seen on stage by the audience. While all the myths are poetic in nature, Zimmerman "has
a great vision and her sense of humor intrudes on a regular basis, often with clever visual or aural
touches." [35] The imaginative use of the pool in the play of course helps in the setting up of the
fantasy element of the play but the comedy elements make the play easy to be able to relate in
the world today. For when an audience hears or reads the clever set of words set forth by
Zimmerman, they can easily take in the experience of a well written play but will also be able to
relate the lessons learned and information presented to their immediate lives.
The rhythm with which Zimmerman chose to write Metamorphoses is also a very key concept to
understand. The quick scenes and down-to-the point dialogue is easy to follow and does not
leave a great deal of silence and or pauses within many of the conversations. This upbeat rhythm
shows up within separate lines themselves. "HERMES: The god of speed and distant messages, a
golden crown above his shining eyes, his slender staff held out in front of him, and little wings
fluttering at his ankles: and on his left arm, barely touching it: she."[36] A device called
dissonance is used heavily in this one particular line. Dissonance is a subtle sense of disharmony,
tension, or imbalance within the words chosen in the play.[37] The short stressed sounds are the
ones that are emphasized in dissonance and it is a way for the playwright to accentuate the uptempo rhythm that is being used throughout the play.
Music
The music for Metamorphoses was composed by Willy Schwarz, for which he was awarded the
2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play. Schwarz also collaborated with
Zimmerman in her plays The Odyssey and Journey to the West.[38] In Metamorphoses his music
is used to signify a change in scene or to accompany specific moments of a scene, often a
moment of poetic speech.
Music in the form of finger cymbals is used in the story of Midas; after he is granted the ability
to turn anything he touches to gold, his footsteps are denoted by the sound of the finger
cymbals.[39] Also, the character of Apollo sings the aria "Un Aura Amarosa" from Cosí Fan Tutte
by Mozart during the story of Phaeton.
Sample production history[33]
-Times and dates retrieved from the beginning of the scriptWorld premiere production:
Produced by Lookingglass Theatre Co., based in Chicago. It opened on October 25, 1998 at the
Ivanhoe Theater.
Second Stage Theatre production:
The play's off Broadway debut was on October 9, 2001 in New York City. This production was
in rehearsal during the attacks on the World Trade Towers on September 11. With the towers
still smoldering downtown, the productions emotional response seemed greater from the
audience.[40]
Broadway production:
The play's Broadway debut was on March 4, 2002 at the Circle in the Square theater in New
York City. Unlike previous productions, the Circle in the Square Theater uses a 3/4 thrust stage,
meaning that the audience is on three sides of the playing area. It resonated a similar structure to
the Greek and Roman amphitheaters and the audience was aware that other audience members
could see them, "appropriate for a show that stresses the value of shared cultural myths and the
emotions they summon." [41] Although the play kept many of the Off-Broadway aspects of the
show, it subdued the incest scene between Myrrha and King Cinyras for the Broadway
production. The Off Broadway scene had the pair "writhing and splashing" enthusiastically in a
much more intense and disturbing fashion, while on Broadway they gently rolled in the water,
suggesting a more seemly interaction.[42] The performance style was commented by one reviewer
as falling into an American jokiness form that had a youthful charm and a high energy for
wisecracks as a way of deflecting and delay the emotionally heavy scene, which tended to
resonate better.[43] It closed on February 16, 2003, running for a total of 400 performances.[44]
This production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2002, competing against
Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog and Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, which
ended up taking the award.[45]
About the author
Mary Zimmerman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1960. As a child she was introduced to the
stories of the ancient Mediterranean world by Edith Hamilton's Mythology, and while away in
England she was read The Odyssey by a teacher.[34] Zimmerman was educated at Northwestern
University, where she received a BS in theater, as well as a PhD and MA in performance studies.
She is currently a full professor of performance studies at Northwestern.[46]
Beyond her childhood exposure to Greek myths, Zimmerman credits the Jungian scholar James
Hillman as the source of many of her ideas involving love, which appear in the story of Eros and
Psyche. She also acknowledges the contribution of Joseph Campbell, a scholar of mythology, to
her work.[47] Zimmerman won the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship in 1998 in recognition of her
creative work and encouraged her productions and methodology to continue.[48]
Other plays by Mary Zimmerman include Journey to the West, The Odyssey, The Arabian
Nights, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, and Eleven Rooms of Proust. She also directed and
co-wrote Galileo Galilei.[46] She has twice directed for the New York Shakespeare Festival in the
Park and won the Tony Award for Best Director in 2002 for the Broadway production of
Metamorphoses.[49]Metamorphoses was Zimmerman's first Broadway production.[4]