Snake Bit

In 2002 I saw a production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses on Broadway and was so thrilled and moved by it I forced it upon several friends and insisted we share the experience. Metamorphoses is a mishmash of nine or ten myths mostly (but not all) adapted from the works of Ovid. It was staged ravishingly on a thrust stage in and around a pool of water and it was transfixing as well as a bit damp for the people sitting in the first couple of rows. My four-word review: It was friggin’ beautiful.

So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to a production of Ms. Zimmerman’s The White Snake this month, also based on ancient myth only, this time, Asian in origin. The snake, who has reached the epitome of existence over centuries turns herself into a human and, of course, falls in love with one. Complications ensue. I’m afraid I can’t get past the basic adjectives of “interesting” and “disappointing.” Yes, I know I was probably ruined by Metamorphoses, or rather by my memory of it, proving, once again, one should not to be ruled by expectations. As staged at Berkeley Rep (and I think drawing on Mary Zimmerman’s rep) The White Snake was given the best possible technical support. However, for me, with all those great costumes and puppets, it only passed muster as really snazzy children’s theater.