At the Folger Theatre, Metamorphoses Celebrates Black Humanity
The Water Nymph (Miss Kitty) introduces us to the mythical tales of Ovid in Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, on stage at Folger Theatre. Photo by Brittany Diliberto.
As the saying goes, nothing is certain except death and taxes–and yet, one could assert that metamorphosis is inevitable. Metamorphosis or change is always upon us, whether we like it or not. That’s especially true at the Folger Shakespeare Library this season. Not only is the historic building finishing its significant renovations, which include making the building more accessible and adding a new public wing, two new exhibition spaces, research labs, and a café, but it’s also hosting a new production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, directed by Tony award-winning playwright, director, and actor Psalmayene 24.
Psalmayene’s joyous production features an all-Black ensemble and relocates Ovid’s classic stories within the African diaspora. Throughout the show, the talented cast, including stars Edwin Brown, Renea S. Brown, and DeJeanette Horne, take on various roles within various Ovidian myths (and the story of Eros and Psyche, which exists outside Ovid’s book).
Zimmerman’s original play won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play and is still remembered today for featuring a large pool of water onstage. While the Folger was not able to accommodate such a pool, the creative team decided to incorporate water in various other ways–ways that speak to the Black American experience, such as opening with the dangerous journey enslaved people were forced to make across the Atlantic and immersing the set in bluish underwater lighting choices, thanks to the vision of Lighting Designer William K. D’Eugenio.
Tony Thomas’s choreography is also commended for evoking the movement of water, especially when considering the “Miss Kitty” performance. Miss Kitty, a water nymph and, at times, the personification of water, is a highlight of the show. Mika Eubanks’s costume designs speak both to the specificity of African culture and the universality of transformation through their bold colors, traditional patterns, and fluid styles.
Cast sings “King Fisher” song in Folger Theatre’s staging of Metamorphoses. Pictured top: DeJeanette Horne and Billie Krishawn; bottom, left to right: Manu Kumasi, Kalen Robinson, and Yesenia Iglesias. The Folger Theatre. Photo by Brittany Diliberto.
We live in a time where retellings and reinterpretations are ubiquitous–it can seem like everything is being remade, recast, or told from a different perspective. Yet, the stories of the Metamorphoses, like fairy tales, are especially ripe for reimaginings and fresh interpretations, given their timeless psychological truths and easy-to-follow plots. David R. Slavitt, the translator who inspired Zimmerman’s script for Metamorphoses remarked about needing a new set of quotation marks for Ovid’s layered storytelling. In a way, Psalmayene 24’s show–the first show at the Folger to feature an all-Black cast–can be understood as yet another layer of quotation marks, this time with folks speaking about the African diaspora, adding new light and depth to the poem.
At the start of the Folger’s renovations in 2020, a massive Magnolia tree was repositioned 100 feet from its original location on the library’s property, where it had reigned for nearly nine decades. After the tree’s painstaking move, Ruth Taylor Kidd, the Folger C.F.O. Officer, commented, "The view of the building is now completely different.” The view, apparently, is now similar to how it might have looked decades ago before the tree grew so large. It seems that we must sometimes change what is familiar so that we can see clearly and move forward. Psalmayene 24 has a similar understanding of his show. “This production is a ritual meant to celebrate and elevate Black humanity,” he said, “while connecting us to all humanity.”
It’s also true that Ovid’s Metamorphoses had a special place in Shakespeare’s heart, enhancing its appropriateness at the Folger. According to Dr. Will Tosh, the head of Research at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, the Metamorphoses might have been Shakespeare’s favorite book, with “Ovid’s polymorphous imagination making a strong impression on Shakespeare.”
Hunger (Yesenia Islesias) appears in Metamorphoses, Mary Zimmerman’s retelling of classic Ovid tales. On stage at Folger Theatre. Photo by Brittany Diliberto.
Looking at Shakespeare’s oeuvre closely, one can see the presence of the Metamorphoses. While Ovid’s transformations may have been depicted as physical, Shakespeare’s are often depicted through metaphor, symbolism, or psychological change, with the notable exception of Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream—a sculpture depicting this transformation by Greg Wyatt can be seen in the Folger gardens. Luckily, in the Folger production, transformation is depicted as both literal and metaphorical at various times, bringing the ghosts of Ovid and Shakespeare together on stage.
Metamorphoses will play at the Folger Theatre through June 16th. Tickets can be bought online through the Folger’s website. The Folger Theatre is inside the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Samantha Neugebauer is a lecturer at NYU in D.C. and a senior editor for Painted Bride Quarterly.