Mostly movement-based telling of the vampire's tale
Running time 1:40 - no intermission
Stylized representations of lust and violence
Tickets $15 - $45
Click here to buy the novel
 

Storyline: An English clerk travels to Transylvania to assist in the financial affairs of a mysterious count who is, in fact, a vampire. The count  follows the clerk back to London, but still needs fresh sources of human blood which drives him to commit ever increasing acts of horror.

The classic vampire story by Bram Stoker, Irish writer and theater manager (his "day job" was managing London's Lyceum Theatre), was published in 1897 and has gone on to be adapted into about as many different formats as you can name - movies, television shows, spin-off novels, comic books, ballets, Broadway shows. Part of the reason is the strength of the underlying story - the legend that Stoker used to support his tale of the people affected by the actions of the vampire. Given that audiences everywhere already know the basic concept that a bat-like man, who only shows himself in the darkness, can live forever if he continues to drink human blood, and that his bite spreads his condition to his victims, Stoker was free to embellish with touches both sexual and romantic. They make the story well suited to the florid style of the Tsikurisvilis and their troupe.

Istrate is a floating, gliding Dracula who seems detached not only from the people around him but from the entire world. That ethereal appearance contrasts sharply with that of the very-much-of-the-world Alex Mills as the English clerk and slightly mysterious Roger Payano as the expert on vampirism who at least claims to know how to defeat him. Natalie Berk and Mary Werntz have the main female roles and they both look and move as you would expect of these seductive women of the Victorian era, but it is the trio of wives of Dracula - Stacey Jackson, Irina Koval and Catalina Lavalle, who make the most lasting impression as the incarnation of seductive beauty. The often marvelous Irakli Kavsadze who provides both music direction and, along with Tsikurishvili, sound design, takes the stage as the lunatic asylum inmate who seems to best understand the count. His performance, however, turns out to be something of a distraction both because of the cartoonish humor he brings to it and because of the wobbly portable cell in which he is confined. It seems like something from a different production.

The show opens with one of the best of Synetic's battle sequences, which means one of the best battle sequences on any local stage. Special commendation should go to fight choreographer Ben Cunis, but it is worth pointing out that no fight choreographer could accomplish what Cunis does here without a troupe of performers uniquely skilled in the special blend of acrobatics, mime and control that is Synetic's stock in trade. Contributing to the success of that first scene and to the fourteen that follow is the spare and dramatic design of Anastasia Ryukikov Simes and the superbly focused lights of Andrew F. Griffin.

Written by Nathan Weinberger based on the novel by Bram Stoker. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Fight choreography by Ben Cunis. Original music and special effects by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes and properties) Andrew F. Griffin (lights) Paata Tsikurishvili and Irakli Kavsadze (sound) Irakli Kavsadze (music direction) Graeme Shaw (photography) Megan Allen (stage manager). Cast: Natalie Berk, Philip Fletcher, Chris Galindo, Dan Istrate, Stacey Jackson, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Koval, Catalina Lavalle, Alex Mills, Roger Payano, Ben Russo, Ryan Sellers, Vato Tsikurishvili, Mary Werntz

t A Potomac Stages Pick for an effervescent, pulsating and
 fresh adaptation … who needs words anyway?
Running time 1:30 minutes - no intermission
Performed at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater
Tickets $40-$45
Click here to buy the script

Storyline: Romantic mix-ups are compounded by the intervention of the King and Queen of the fairies who inhabit the nearby woods as magic potions intended to make couples fall instantly and completely in love with each other create bonds instead between the wrong partners. Added confusion comes as a wandering troupe of actors gather in the woods to rehearse their play and a mischievous fairy turns one of them into a buffoon.

How wonderfully bendable are William Shakespeare’s works. His A Midsummer Night’s Dream has oft been performed in the Potomac region: The Shakespeare Theatre, Folger Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company for instance. But none took the silent, movement-driven, musical approach of Synetic. This adaptation of what is often a 2 ½ hour production into 90 minutes has done no harm to the journey, though the program notes will be helpful to those unfamiliar with the plot. Director Paata Tsikurishvili has delivered on a “blend of elements suited to Synetic’s style.” How marvelous that a broader audience can see this treasured company’s work in such swell surroundings as the Kennedy Center. He brings a sense of great fun and depth to the evening without absenting the heat of anger and betrayal that is there in Shakespeare. Where often Synetic’s work is of a deeply crimson imagery, mentality and outlooks, this is a more dreamy production with love as the weight rather than sin or corruption. His direction has humanity to it. One cares for the characters and the outcome for them.

To open, the audience is greeted with flickering flames and waving arms of a small ensemble melding into palms cupping small votive candles capturing ephemeral beauty.  Soon, a dropped rose is the inciting incident to make passions rise and start the action on its way. Alex Mills is Puck, an impish charmer with a magical smile and the ability to make himself a crawling spider or a gamin sorcerer. He is all playful boy as he sprinkles his magical potions to bring first confusion and finally love to the proceedings. Irina Tsikusiahvili is a Queen with a commanding presence even when under a magical spell thrown upon her by her husband, the King. Her lissome movements are disarming as she tumbles and twists herself into positions without a trace of sweat. Marissa Molnar, decked out in red as Helena, and Irina Koval, demure in white as Hermia are both an eye's delight as they generate heat as the female members of couples under stress. Their ability to project “I’ve had enough” to unwanted male interests are unhesitatingly clear. Confused males of the couples, Roger Payano (Demetrius) and Scott Brown (Lysander) can be nose-to-nose, giving a sense of danger one moment and smitten love the next. Irakli Kavsadze is a comedic Bottom without the time honored donkey’s head. He uses rubbery facial tics to give the impression of being overtaken by an enchantment; perhaps not donkey-like, but certainly a buffoon.

The Kennedy Center Family Theatre’s lush, crisp sound; both live and prerecorded, pop the production not with loudness, but with each note projecting clearly.  The set is one of moon glow lighting, tied in a silvery bow. Set design elements are engaging; a dozen or so long velvety hanging ropes that become a thicket of moving vines, or a crescent moon from which to perch, and even a piano that visibly presents itself as misused. Costumes run the gamut from exotic masks to glittering little pieces. Supple legs, sparkling sequined winged fairies, wedding gowns and tuxedos contrast to the acting troupe’s grunge.

Based on the play by William Shakespeare.  Adapted by Ben Cunis.  Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Composed by Konstantine Lortkipandze. Music Direction by Irakli Kavsadze. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes and properties) Andrew F. Giffin (lights) Ben Cunis (fight choreography) Konstantine Lortkipandze (sound) Jennifer Renee Cole (stage manager). Cast:  Natalie Berk, Scott Brown, Shannon A. L. Dorsey, Philip Fletcher, Chris Galindo, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Kavsadze, Irina Koval, Konstantine Lortkipanidze, Levan Lortkipanidze, Katie Maguire, Alex Mills, Marissa Molnar, Roger Payano, Ryan Sellers, Irina Tsikurishvili, Vato Tsikurishvili, Mary Werntz.

Rowdy, unrestrained re-interpretation of a classic; physicality
and bawdy language abounds
Running time 1:40 - no intermission
March 26 - April 4 at Georgetown University's Gonda Theatre, 3700 O St. NW 
April 11 – 26 at Rossyln Spectrum
Tickets $15 - $40
Click here to buy Aristophanes' original script

Storyline:  Athens and Sparta have been at war for years with no end in sight. One woman, Lysistrata, has an answer. She unites the women in a sex strike to force their men to come to their senses.  Victory is theirs, though not without trials and tribulations.

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata was performed in 411 BC and continues to be performed to this day. A few years ago staged readings were had throughout the US in an anti-Iraq war protest event. A center piece of the play’s central focus might be these words, "We need only sit indoors with painted cheeks, and meet our mates lightly clad in transparent gowns of Amorgos silk, and perfectly depilated; they will get their tools up and be wild to lie with us. That will be the time to refuse, and they will hasten to make peace, I am convinced of that!" And it is from here that adapter Goldman takes off. His script is a combination of ancient words, contemporary slang and rock-and-roll sensibility built to examine “the masks we wear in the name of power.” He is not one to shy away from either direct words or forceful sexual movement that might bring shivers to the parents of the students in the production. This is the students’ production, and beyond the substance of the piece, they learn about dramatic structure, vocal presentation, physical movement, and the arc of a play to keep an audience engaged. Tsikurishvili has used the raw energy of her charges (who seem to be having fun rather than trying to be perfect) rather than the more expected Synetic coolly precise dancing and mannerisms. Tsikurishvili’s training of her cast is clearly evident as steps are accomplished on cue with Konstantine Lortkipanidze's original music moving them forward.

The ensemble is a joy; not dainty as they chew and dance through this script. Each contributes with solo time as well as ensemble work. The young women have the opportunity to play old women in veils as a Greek Chorus and also as somewhat slutty wives and lovers. The young men are solders and muscle their way around in fight scenes as well as having the opportunity to play orgasm-denied men in need of relief. Does it matter that this may seem a bit over the top?  It does get a bit long-winded, even pornography can reach a point of nothingness; your reviewer has been told. There is one showstopper near the end of the evening as the sexual nature of the production begins to wane and the terms of art of body parts wear thin. This is a parody of the Eagles' 1970’s classic song, "Desperado" which is worth the price of admission. Who knew one could find such simple pleasure based upon the syllables of Desperado and Lysistrata matching up? Finally, the overall sense of the production is one of  fearlessness … invulnerable to gravity.

The Gonda Theatre at Georgetown University is a lovely venue with its seating allowing the audience to look down into the set and action. What is viewed is a jungle gym gymnasium contraption with multi-level walkways to nine platforms soaring 15 feet or so into the air. And there are no nets, these actors are really fearless.  Costumes allow the women to appear as old women or as vibrant young seducers with open necklines, while the men are dressed in mufti, some with well developed muscles flaring. Pre-show music is sassy stuff; covers of the Stones to Pat Benatar to material most parents probably don’t know once their children leave home.

Written by Aristophanes. Adapted and Directed by Derek Goldman. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Music composed by Konstantine Lortkpianidze. Design: Robbie Hayes (set) Deb Sivigny (costumes) Ted Parker (properties) Dan Covey (lights) Phil Humnicky/Georgetown University (photography). Cast: Philippe Bowgen, Holly Bryce, Joseph Carlson, Caitlin Cassidy, Marjory Collado, Vince Eisenson, Zehra Fazal, S. Lewis Feemster, Miranda Hall, Renata Veberyte Loman, Matt MacNelly, Danny Rivera, Deidra Lawan Starnes, Sarah Taurchini, Justine Underhill and Clark Young.

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Darkness with flair and heavy breathing; and yet more art for artistry’s sake
Running Time 1:40 - no intermission
Tickets $15 - $40
 

Storyline: Dante Alighieri’s epic tells of a lost traveler's journey through the torments of Hell and up the slopes of Purgatory before the final attainment of redemption and Paradise.

Florentine poet Dante wrote The Divine Comedy between 1307 and 1321 in the then-new language he is said to have created called "Italian." It was revolutionary to write an epic in the vernacular and began what, over the centuries, led to the establishment of the nation of Italy out of the grouping of principalities and the Papal State held together by the Catholic faith. The Divine Comedy is the source of words we still use but don’t recall their origins such as “All hope abandon, ye who enter in!” In adapting the huge work, transferring it from poetry to live action, Tsikurishvili and Weinberger had to remove much to find the essence of Hell with minimal spoken narrative guiding the audience. The transfer of this richly textured journey from paper to movement and thumping original music by Konstantine Lortkipanidze is more twelve separate scenes and surface artistry than a tightly woven magnetic work.

The ensemble brings such robust life to this production. They are thrilling in their fearlessness. Pulled about, naked or nearly so, tousled, they do it all. How can this be, to be so athletic, so muscular and not silly with outsized muscle, so smooth of toned-thigh, so able to raise an arm and twist and twirl the hands and fingers “just so,” to arch a back or to puff out a chest in unison to music that bounces them about near the flow of others without an accidental crash? There are certain images that will remain with you. One is of Galindo (how we shall put this delicately?) impaled on a cross in a most uncomfortable manner. For humor there is a scene where headless figures in white sheets, as if in Ichabod Crane’s Halloween story, come alive better than anything your reviewer can recall.

The severely raked Spectrum stage is surrounded with dark grey-green mist shrouded granite appearing rock-like panels beckoning the eye and drawing one into  the maelstrom that is the underworld. Lortkipanidze’s music is percussive and jarring, pulling the audience in.  And, ah, the costumes! A Bishop appears in his cloaks of finery. Souls appear in gauzy, flimsy fabric that allows bodies to appear and disappear from view…but always the legs of the women characters -- such beauty to behold as the fabric pulls away. Horns of the devil may appear, or tassels to cover nipples all to whet the appetite for the human body.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili from the poem by Dante Alighieri. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Music by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set and costumes) Andrew F. Griffin (lights) Ben Cunis (fight choreography) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Abby Lynch (stage manager). Cast: Natalie Berk, Scott Brown, Benjamin Cunis, Philip Feltcher, Katherine Frattini, Chris Galindo, Stacey Jackson, Catalina Lavalle, Emily Levey, Greg Marzullo, Katie Maguire, Alex Mills, Ben Russo, Salma Qarnain, Ryan Sellers, Vato Tsikurishvili, Elizabeth Van Den Berg, Mary Werntz.

Running time 1:20 - no intermission
t Potomac Stages Pick for physical, emotional theater
Performances at the Rosslyn Spectrum.

Storyline: Two men meet on the fringes of battle in the forests of the Caucasus, each from a different side in the struggle between rival villages, one Christian and one Muslim. They could have killed each other but something of their humanity flickered at just the right time to give them pause. The Muslim takes the Christian into his home where he and his wife follow the dictates of their faith to make him welcome. But the villagers demand he be surrendered to be put to death.

Written by Roland Reed based on the poem by Vazha Pshavela. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurshivili. Music by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili (set, costumes and properties) Andrew F. Griffin (lights) Abby Lynch (stage manager). Cast: Ben Cunis, Philip Fletcher, Dan Istrate, Stacey Jackson, Irakli Kavsadze, Katie Maguire, Alex Mills, John Milosich, Julia Proctor, Ben Russo, Ryan Sellers, Armand Sindoni, Irina Tsikurishvili, Vato Tsikurishvili.

 
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Running time 1:35 - no intermission 
A famous tale as sensuous spectacle
Winner of the Ushers' Favorite Show Award for June
Note: Performed in the Kennedy Center's Family Theater through June 15, and then in the Rosslyn Spectrum 

Storyline: Carmen, a gypsy woman who works in a cigar factory in Spain, gets in a fight and slashes a co-worker. José, the soldier who arrests her, falls under her spell and lets her go, but becomes obsessed with her and fatally jealous of any man to whom she pays any attention - including a bull fighter, his own commanding officer and another who turns out to be married to Carmen.

Unlike some of their other adaptations, Weinberger and Tsikurishvili are not working in the wordless medium that has often served them well. They use speech here, but it doesn't add much. Indeed, it slows things down considerably. However, when the performers stop talking and start telling their story through that unique blend of movement, mime, posture and gesture that is the Synetic signature, things heat back up in a flash. Irina Tsikurivhili's choreography concentrates on the physicality of the story, especially on the fights. The moves she devises for some of the quieter moments are a bit wan, especially the cigar rolling by the women in the cigar factory in which José first encounters Carmen. But when either seduction or fighting are called for, her work packs a punch. With Ben Cunis adding stage combat elements, the entire cast is asked to perform some astonishing physical feats.

If Irina Tsikurishvili choreographs with abandon, it cannot be said she dances with any less intensity. As Carmen she is a source of heat. Ben Cunis, who was so ethereally graceful as the youthful Romeo in Synetic's last outing, Romeo and Juliet, is a more mature, angular and threatening presence as the obsessed José. Again, he leads the pack of male dancers, and what a pack it is. Philip Fletcher is the bull fighter to Vato Tsikurishvili's bull, Roger Payano is Carmen's ill-fated husband and Ryan Sellers returns to fly around the stage as a member of Carmen's band of brigands after his fabulously physical work as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.

Konstantine Lortkipanidze, the resident composer for Synetic, provides an all encompassing aural atmosphere that pulses and pounds for the full hour and a half without once seeming either repetitious or restrained. The lead musical performer is an on-stage electronic violin player, Rafael Javadov. He is backed by Lortkipanidze himself on keyboard and Serge Krichenko on guitar at the rear of the set. That set, a cage structure of metal bars in Anastasia Simes' black and red design, becomes an instrument itself when the cast pound out rhythms in something that seems like Blue Man Group performing Stomp.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili from the novella by Prosper Mérimée. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Original music and sound design by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Stage combat by Ben Cunis. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes and properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Viv Woodland (stage manager). Cast: Natalie Berk, Scott Brown, Ben Cunis, Shannon A. L. Dorsey, Philip Fletcher, Courtney Pauroso, Roger Payano, Salma Qarnain, JR Russ, Ryan Sellers, Irina Tsikurishvili, Vato Tsikurishvili, Mary Werntz.

 
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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a feast for the eyes, ears and hearts
Winner of the Ushers' Favorite Show Award for February
Click here to buy Shakespeare's Script

Storyline: Synetic applies its "art of silence" to Shakespeare’s classic tale of the children of two feuding families in Verona at the end of the sixteenth century. Romeo Montague falls in love with Juliet Capulet and they secretly marry just as their families’ feud hits its peak. Romeo is banished for killing Juliet’s cousin and Juliet is promised to another. In a ruse to avoid that fate she takes a potion that leaves her seeming to be dead. Romeo, not having received the message explaining the plan, believes she is dead and kills himself. When she awakes to find her lover dead she, too, takes her own life. The families, with grief on both sides, reconcile.

The adaptation by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili gets to the heart of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy. The flood of delight in the discovery of new love that defines the characters of Romeo and his Juliet is here in all its intensity, as are their reactions to the twists of fate awaiting them. The primal motivations of feuding families comes through with clarity, while the supportive interests of Juliet's nurse and Friar Laurence is as clear without words as it is in the source's text.  Of course, part of that is the contribution of the performers who bring each character to life. The physicality of Ben Cunis as Romeo, the youthful beauty of Courtney Pauroso as Juliet, the comic athleticism of Marissa Molnar as the younger-than-usually-portrayed nurse, the avuncular concern of Irakli Kavsadze's Friar Laurence, are all unmistakable in their characters. Nick Vienna's presence as Juliet's father and the youthful blend of energy, pride and flippantry of Philip Fletcher as Mercutio and Ryan Sellers as Tybalt add to the impact of the tale.

The astonishingly athletic and, at the same time, gracefully beautiful work of Irina Tsikurishvili is at the core of the success of this production. Her choreographic magic has been a staple of both the Synetic Theater and its predecessor company, the Stanislavsky Theater Studio, and of the Helen Hayes Awards for the past eleven years. (She's been nominated every year - often competing against herself as she was last year with three nominations - and has won the Outstanding Choreography award five times.) The moment she creates for Romeo and Juliet's first kiss is a thing of beauty as their arms begin to elevate with the lightness of doves set free as their lips fuse, and the scene of taunting Juliet's nurse takes full advantage of Molnar's combination of gymnastic and comedic abilities. The fatal fight scene can't quite shake the impact of Jerome Robbins' take on the same event in West Side Story, but her imagery for the final tableau of tragic death is stunning.

The combination of musical score by Konstantine Lortkipanidze, who sits partially visible at his keyboard above the action, and the sounds of clicking clocks and grinding machinery by Irakli Kavsadze, provide an all-encompassing aural equivalent to the all-engaging visual impact of the piece. Anastasia Simes contributes a set that is so much more than a set, it is a world of turning gears and cogs that doesn't always distinguish between mechanical and human, as Tsikurishvili has cast members mimicking the movement of the hands of clock faces as the short time allotted the lovers by fate ticks away. The result is a ninety minute immersion into the enchantment of young love, the conflict of family feuds and the tragedy of star-crossed fates that has kept Shakespeare's tale being told and re-told for over four hundred years.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili from the play by William Shakespeare. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Music composed and performed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili.  Design: Anastasia Simes (set, costumes and properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Konstantine Lortkipanidze (sound) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Scott Brown, Madeline Carr, Ben Cunis, Philip Fletcher, Meghan Grady, Irakli Kavsadze, Marissa Molnar, Courtney Pauroso, Salma Qarnain, Ryan Sellers, Vato Tsikurishvili, Nick Vienna.

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Running time 1:20 - no intermission
A new adaptation of Dickens' classic in Synetic's style

Storyline: Charles Dickens' story of the Christmas eve when mean and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas as the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, sends him the Ghost of Christmas Past to show him the error of his ways, the Ghost of Christmas Present to show him the opportunity to change and the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come to show him the consequences of failing to change.

Weinberger attempts to streamline Dickens to make a single-act encapsulation. The key to the process is the use of Synetic's traditional use of motion and stark staging to get various plot points across through iconic images rather than verbal explanations. It works well as far as it goes, but Weinberger leaves a bit too much of the well known language in place and the verbiage gets to be a distraction from the main storytelling technique of the show.

Kavsadze is one of the prime members of the Synetic team, having appeared in nearly all their productions in recent years. His Scrooge is mean and menacing enough to make the transition to giddy benefactor of the Cratchits and, indeed, the entire town, a joyful release. Miles Butler makes a fine Tiny Tim and the young Scrooge of the vision created by Regina Aquino as the Ghost of Christmas Past is Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili's son, Vato. This isn't the only family connection here. Irina Kavsadze, daughter of Irakli, returns to Synetic after appearing here in Macbeth. She's the Ghost of Christmas Future. Rounding out the trio of ghosts (here called "Spirits" in a slightly less foreboding title that does nothing to disguise what Scrooge thinks of his nocturnal visitors) is Niki Jacobsen as the "Spirit" of Christmas Present.

The musical score for this aurally impressive production is a mixture of new music by regular Synetic contributor Konstantine Lortkipanidze and two Georgian composers, Gia Kancheli and Vato Kakhidze. Lortkipanidze also hails from the eastern edge of the Black Sea so there is a unity of feeling in the synthesis of symphonic and contemporary sounds in all of the music here. Irina Tsikurishvili has created swaying, surging movements to match.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili and Dan Istrate. Original incidental music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Featuring music by Gia Kancheli and Vato Kakhidze. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes and properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Konstantine Lortkipanidze (sound). Cast: Regina Aquino, Miles Butler. Dan Istrate, Niki Jacobsen, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Kavsadze, Linden Tailor,  Vato Tsikurishvili

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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
Poe's tale rendered in stunning visual and sonic style Performances at the Rosslyn Spectrum
Click here to buy the story

Storyline: The Usher family has a history of trouble and sorrow, so woeful that Roderick, the last remaining male in the line, seems determined the line will end with his generation. Closed up in the family estate - a crumbling, rotting house - he and his sister are visited by his friend Edgar who witnesses their end.

Picking up on Poe's reference to "an after-dream of opium," Tsikurishvili and Weinberger structure the woes of the Ushers in a dance of delirium that builds from an initial Saint Vitus dance afflicting Roderick alone through a pas-de-deux for brother and sister to a stage-filling, body flinging climax that includes the ancestors of the siblings in the death throes of an entire line. Such dance-dominated storytelling demands both the uniquely physical and emotive choreography of Irina Tsikurishvili and the incredibly disciplined execution of Synetic's troupe. A touch of variety, however, is provided by having the part of Edgar be an almost non-dancing role performed here by Theodore M. Snead with none of the super-stylized posturing that mark all of the Ushers and their servant. Snead, then, becomes the touch with reality which provides contrast.

Greg Marzullo makes Roderick something more than just a suffering being. He has flashes of fear and moments of self doubt that make his Roderick seem a shadow of an earlier persona that must have been likeable before the unnamed terrors destroyed him. He demonstrates affection for his sister that seems generous and wholesome before it turns a touch incestuous as well as fatal. Irina Koval is that sister, dancing with intensity and alternating between drug-induced lethargy and fearful panic. Together, they make a captivating pair. Adding to the bizarre feeling of gothic strangeness is Philip Fletcher as a deteriorating servant and a five-person corps known simply as "The House."

The theater-filling recorded musical score by Konstantine Lortkipanidze ranges from gothic to raucous with a final burst of energy that accompanies the struggle of the generations of Ushers and the deaths of the siblings. At times, it is reminiscent of a Bernard Herrmann score for an Alfred Hitchcock film (think of the screeching strings of the shower scene in Psycho) but then it goes farther than Herrmann ever did into more modern idioms and it blends with the sound design Lortkipanidze devised with Irakli Kavsadze to create a sonic environment for the entire show. Georgi Alexi-Meskivhvili's visual design, including see-through coffins and slate-grey body makeup for the members of the House, is lit with great expressiveness by Colin K. Bills.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskishvili (set, costumes, properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Scott Brown, Ben Cunis, Philip Fletcher, Irina Koval, Renata Loman, Greg Marzullo, Marissa Molnar, Courtney Pauroso, Theodore M. Snead.

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Running time 1:35 - no intermission
t Potomac Stages Pick for visual and dramatic impact
Performed at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater

Storyline: The prince of Denmark discovers that his uncle has murdered his father, the King, and wed his mother, the Queen. The quest for vengeance results in the deaths of guilty and innocent alike.

The work of William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the grandest product of the English language, yet Tsikurishvili strips one of his most famous plays of its language. "To be, or not to be" never passes the lips of Tsikurishvili, who acts the part of Hamlet as well as directs this production. Silent or not, this is not, strictly speaking, either a dance piece or a mime. It is very much a theater piece and the performers, skilled dancers as they are, are actors first. It is highly choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili, who also performs as Ophelia, Hamlet’s beloved. The choreography is in the service of a dramatic piece of theater instead of the other way around. Dance isn’t the reason this piece exists, drama is.

But the approach does have a similarity to classic ballet in one respect. Just as the best ballet captures the essence of character, place and emotion, so does this piece. It reduces Shakespeare's plot to 14 short scenes which, as in ballet, only sketch the events. Instead of expressing those essences in the classical vocabulary of specific dance moves and postures, it uses the vocabulary of theater with all the attention to facial expression, gesture and body language along with scenic design, lighting and costuming. Although there are extended periods when silence almost becomes audible, the majority of the piece most certainly isn't quiet. It is set to music by the contemporary Georgian composer Giya Kancheli (and a section of Mahler’s fifth symphony). The original cast members for Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude, the Player Queen and even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have returned for this latest mounting. The result is about as close to a repeat of the original experience as ever happens in the oh-so-ephemeral art of live theater.

Ever since it first appeared in 2002, there has been controversy over just what this unique production really is. Is it theater? Is it dance? There's no doubt, however, that This Hamlet is surely a Hamlet. The story is all here and, after all, the tale didn’t begin with Shakespeare. He drew his story – as he almost always did – from pre-existing sources. The tale can be traced back at least as far as a Danish historian’s work around 1200, almost as long before Shakespeare as Shakespeare was before us. But the structure of the bard’s treatment is captured in this production. Is it Shakespeare? Well, not his language, but his drama. Besides, it is extraordinarily beautiful.

Adapted and directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Music selections from Giya Kancheli (and Gustav Mahler). Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskishvili (set and costumes) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Stan Barouh (photography). Cast: Ben Cunis, Philip Fletcher, Catherine Gasta, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Koval, John Milosich, Geoff Nelson, Courtney Pauroso, Armand Sindoni, Irina Tsikurishvili, Paata Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger.

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Running time 1:45 - no intermission
Orwell's allegorical tale rendered in Synetic's signature style augmented by video projection
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Storyline: An allegorical tale of what happens when the animals on a farm eject the humans and run the place by themselves. As the pigs rise to power, one pig with the aid of a propaganda pig ousts his competition and subverts the spirit of animal cooperation which marked the early revolution. Corruption results in the new ruler taking on all the traits of the regime that has been overthrown.

George Orwell's slender book is often assigned reading in high school or collegiate freshman English courses because of its clear and consistent use of allegory to make its point. The allegorical allusions are so uncomplicated that there are right answers to questions teachers can ask such as "Who is 'Napoleon' supposed to represent?" (Stalin), "Who is the character representing Tsar Nicholas II?" (Farmer Jones) and "What historical event is recalled in the Battle of the Cowsheds?" (the Russian civil war). This adaptation preserves almost all of the scenes, themes and characters that students had to choose from in answering those test questions as it races through the story. Its principal virtue, however, is the clarity with which it tells the story. There's never a moment of doubt about what is transpiring on stage ... or on screen.

The show often suffers from its refusal to pause even long enough to take a deep breath. Variety being the spice that makes any work of art richer, fuller and more interesting, its absence here is a problem. Often the audience is swept up in wonderment at a new effect or a novel approach only to have that effect or approach go on just a bit longer than it should, leaving that same audience to feel the early stirrings of the "all right, already - move on" instinct. The effects are inventive and well executed. The splitting of action between on-stage and on-screen is particularly well established with characters running off stage left, appearing on screen behind the set moving left to right and reemerging on stage from the right - or vice versa.

Synetic's cast doesn't just dance or engage in choreographed physical bits, however, they are called upon to act while they do it all. That is a key reason for the success of their shows, and here they have the services of some very strong actors. Peter Stray is convincing as the co-leader of the pigs who is ultimately ousted by a similarly credible Dave Bobb as dictator-pig "Napoleon." Bun Cunis performs as the farm's horse with more than a mere equine prancing, he brings the dignity and confidence of that animal into play. The three "Hens" - Marissa Molnar, Jessica Hansen and Shannon Listol - provide a comic relief that is welcome, and Irakli Kavsadze, as Farmer Jones, leads the early going to make the connection between the live action and the pre-reco,rded video.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili from the novel by George Orwell. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Videography by Alexey Khripunov, Hunter Herrick, Travis Steward and Daniel Berk. Stage combat by Ben Cunis. Original music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. Additional music by Gia Kancheli and Alfred Shnitke. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili (set, costumes and properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Dave Bobb, Ben Cunis, Matt Eisenberg, Jessica Hansen, Eric Humphries, Phillip Hylton, Irakli Kavsadze, Shannon Listol, Larissa Liventals, Marissa Molnar, Courtney Pauroso, Peter Stray, Andrew Zox,

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Running time 1:30 – no intermission
t A Potomac Stages pick for a truly immersive Shakespearian experience
Ushers Favorite Show Award winner for February 2007
v Includes adult material

Storyline:  A wordless re-telling of Shakespeare's tale of a Scottish lord, who, with prophecies from three witches ringing in his ears and driven by his wife’s ambitions, kills his King and assumes the throne only to find that he must commit other murders to keep it. As guilt eats at him and at his wife, he is cornered and killed by one of his own intended victims.

Everything about this production has been stamped by the personal touch of the Tsikunshvilis. The direction works closely together with the choreography as do husband and wife, and it shows in the meticulous attention to detail of every movement on stage. Once or twice during the evening the synchronization was off, but this is such a high level of dance that it still amazes that there aren’t more such occasions. As seen in their production of Frankenstein earlier this year, where a group of people moving in unison so perfectly created the image of a ship approaching through a fog covered sea, here that same talent and level is used to create the chaos of a battleground and the rushing approach of an army preparing to storm the castle. Perhaps the only questionable choices of the evening were those of starting the show with three religious figures who are killed by the witches who then don their accouterments and the choice to represent the Earth on a large exercise ball. The religious figures added little to the evening and the ball works as the earth, but is so bouncy the audience can spend more time waiting for it to roll away or toss someone off than appreciating its symbolism.

As always, the original music of the company is perfect, enhancing each moment. If we could go through life with music accompanying us, then that of Konstantine Lorkipanidze should be what we hear. Not once does it detract from the performance, nor does it try to upstage the action. Rather, it blends in as smoothly as another cast member. The lighting effects also mesh into this work to create a seamless whole. The innovative use of very powerful flashlights to represent the weapons being used at first seemed odd, but after only a moment or two the way the cast made them seem so perfectly natural on stage removed any such distraction. Only when they fell to the floor on someone’s death did they have the chance to momentarily blind the audience due to a quirk of how they rolled from the hand, partially obscuring the action on stage. Smoke effects once more play a large role in a Synetic show, adding dimension and distance to what would otherwise seem a small space.

Religious symbolism aside, the roles of the witches (fate) played by Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill, and Phillip Fletcher, were perhaps the most captivating of the evening. Taking a much larger role than in the original staging, they seem to be everywhere, their fingers in every plot and subplot, till Macbeth could hardly be blamed for the path he must take, forced along it as he is by their Machiavellian interventions. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, played by Irakli Kavsadze and Irina Tsikurishvilli, possess incredible chemistry on stage, leaving no doubt that it is his love for her that lets her manipulate him so, and that it is her pride in him that drives her to urge him toward regicide. For those who are not familiar with the play, a quick review of the synopsis in the program, or pre-reading the Cliff’s Notes on the Web prior to attending, is all the preparation needed to fully appreciate and be entranced by this unique and modern adaptation of this classic work.

Written by William Shakespeare. Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreography by Irina Tsikurishvili. Original Music composed by Konstantine Lorkipanidze. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes, properties) Colin K Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Stan Barouh (photography). Cast: Miles Butler, Ben Cunis, Kyle Fitzpatrick, Philip Fletcher, Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill, Dan Istrate, Niki Jacobsen, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Kavsadze, Courtney Pauroso, Salma Qarnain, Armand Sindoni, Irina Tsikurishvili, Michael Way, Andrew Zox.

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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a highly visual, clear retelling of a classic tale
Performances in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre
Click here to buy the novel

Storyline: Victor Frankenstein experiments with the creation of life, finally succeeding in creating a living being from cadaverous pieces. The experiment goes terribly bad, however. The creature, a pure innocent, doesn't know its own strength and ends up killing the good doctor's teacher, his sister and his bride, all the while being pursued by the townspeople who view him as a murderous monster.

Irakli Kavsadze uses all of his strengths to create a touching creature, an innocent infant in a massively powerful body, whose emotional needs are so misunderstood and so tragically unmet, while his strength makes the consequences of his frustrations and confusions tragic. Any good actor can stomp around a stage demonstrating confusion, affection, anger and the like, and Kavsadze certainly is a good actor. It is his mastery of the unique performance style of the Tsikurishvili's blend of athleticism and dance that adds a special touch, however. His carefully choreographed, nearly balletic slow motion fights are as good as they are because of the contributions of creature and victim in each instance. Notable, too, is the humor of Tsikurishvili's performance as the professor. His use of a cane is unique but hard to describe in words.

Music is such a significant part of every Synetic production that it, too, is often hard to describe in fresh words. The score for this production was composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze and Aaron Forbes who were responsible for the score of Faust last Spring. It has some of the contemporary symphonic and chamber sound found in earlier Synetic productions, but also jazz combo piano and drum segments that add a dash of a different spice at important moments and choral work for the wedding scene which adds depth.

Fittingly, the principal set feature is a web in which the good doctor's efforts get tangled. It hangs at the back of the stage, catching the multi-colored lights, sparkling in the flashes of lightning both natural and scientific, and forming the barrier that traps Frankenstein in the complications of his own ambitions. Stage fog is somewhat overused, but often the stark emptiness of the stage is highlighted by the clarity of Colin K. Bills' lights. As always, this Synetic production leaves lingering visual memories.

Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili from the novel by Mary Shelley. Directed by Paata Tsikurisvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Original music by Konstantine Lortkipanidze and Aaron Forbes. Vocal Direction by Elizabeth van den Berg. Design: Anastasia R. Simes (set and costumes) Shawn Quick (creature effects) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Raymond Gniewek (photography). Cast: Madeleine Carr, Matthew Eisenberg, Philip Fletcher, Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill, Dan Istrate, Niki Jacobsen, Irakli Kavsadze, John Milosich, Geoff Nelson, Courtney Pauroso, Armand Sindoni, Paata Tsikurisvhili, Nathan Weinberger,  Andrew Zox.

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Reviewed April 28
Running time 1:30 - no intermission
Movement and mood meld in a rock-infused production
v Includes brief nudity 
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Storyline: A modern retelling of the legend has a nerd striking the fateful deal with the devil for knowledge in exchange for his soul.  Here that knowledge frees him from his nerdish persona, allowing a liaison with Gretchen whom he views as the perfect women, but the corrupting power of knowledge turns the relationship to tragedy.

This Faust follows the structure of Goethe's epic "closet drama," one never actually written with an eye toward production on stage. It begins with the wager between God and the devil figure, Mephistopheles, and only then proceeds to the contract between Mephistopheles and Faust, and to Faust's involvement with the woman whose tragedy is enmeshed in his. As with all of Tsikurishvili's adaptations, it strips the source material to its essence and then devises a series of striking visual pictures and presents them in a fluid progression accompanied by all-encompassing soundscapes. While here he uses some verbiage, the story is really told visually with athletic dance providing much of the momentum that drives the one-act performance forward.

There is a timelessness to many of the productions of the Tsikurisvhilis that seems somehow missing from this one. It may be the punk-flavored costuming with torn jeans, t-shirts, goth-themed coats and a nipple ring or two. Or, perhaps it is the use of a rock-flavored score, rather than the lush post-romantic classical sound that accompanied most of the shows of the past. This soundscape does the same thing earlier ones accomplished by setting a mood and creating an atmosphere, but it pulls the piece into contemporary times when the story calls out for some remove -- it remains the same old Faustian deal with overtones of alchemy.

Much of Goethe's work was viewed as a treatment of the issues of alchemy which were so cutting-edge of the time, but that time was the 1790s. Here, Tsikurishvili sets the action within a laboratory littered with books, vials and specimen jars. The central image is of a tub, steaming and spewing forth all manner of images. Irina Tsikurishvili's choreography is as physical and rhythmically hypnotic as always. The body control of her dancers is, as it always is in a Synetic production, amazing, and those bodies are attractive in both versions - muscular males, lithe females and flat abs everywhere. As is also typical of a Synetic presentation, eroticism is a feature of most of the dance and movement routines. This time it is with partial nudity. Movement and symbolism rather than stark nakedness is the method of choice, however, for the birth/infanticide scene which is disturbing enough just as it is.

Based on Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Adapted by Nathan Weinberger and Paata Tsikurishvili. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Original music composed by Aaron Forbes. Featured composers: Konstantin Lordkipany and Bondo Gugely. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskishvili (set, costumes, properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Stan Barouh (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Philip Fletcher, Meghan Grady, Katherine E. Hill, Dan Istrate, Julia Kunina, Olena Kushch, Anna Lane, Greg Marzullo, Matthew McGloin,  Irina Tsikurishvili, Andrew Zox.

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Reviewed February 15
Running time 1:30 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for visual, aural and emotional impact
Click here to buy the original script

Storyline: A woman in a Georgian village is loved by a young man of insufficient means to impress her father who arranges a marriage for her to a wealthy man from a neighboring village. Heartbreak takes her lover's life, but his spirit is so attached to their love that it takes possession of her. Her father arranges for an exorcism but the bond of love between the two youngsters is too strong for temporal intervention.

Synetic's Paata Tsikurishvili and Theater J's Hannah Hessel have adapted the 1920 play by S. Anski. The full title of the play was The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds: A Dramatic Legend in Four Acts. The original script ran to about fifty pages. When arena stage mounted an adaptation in 1975 with Diane Weist in the role of the possessed girl, and again when Tony Kushner adapted it, the text ran to a hundred pages. The team that could do Hamlet in silence doesn't need pages and pages of words. Instead they use just a few, punctuated by crystal clear story-telling in posture, gesture and dance. The result strips the story of verbiage and emphasizes emotion in a production of beauty, energy, and driving momentum that builds to a marvelously visual and aural climax.

Typical of a Tsikurishvili show, the first few scenes seem somehow dislocated or even confusing. But go with the flow - for they do coalesce into a story that takes hold of your imagination and carries you away while treating you to visual pleasures. It builds nicely, with a slight dip in intensity for the wedding dance sequence. Then it regains both momentum and power as the supernatural aspects of the story kick in. Choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili performs the role of the girl herself and is both dramatic and fluid, while many of the Synetic regulars perform with their usual precision, including the always expressive Irakli Kavadze in the role of the father who wants material wealth for his daughter. New to the troupe is Andrew Zox who is quite at home in the style as the young man whose spirit can't do without the girl.

Kavadze is also credited along with Paata Tsikurisvhili with the sound design of the show which has the sonic impact we've come to expect from Synetic. They use a selection of full symphony orchestra pieces that sound very much as if they were written as the scores for movies (think Bernard Herrman and his Alfred Hitchcock scores). Scenic designer Anastasia Ryurikov Simes uses native costumes of Georgia, some strangely reminiscent of Cossack garb, and simple but striking set elements such as hanging books for the scene in the synagogue. The simplest effect is the most effective, the light that signifies the final triumph of love.  

Adapted by Hannah Hessel and Paata Tsikurishvili from the play by S. Anski. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set, costumes, properties) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Lindsay Miller (stage manager). Cast: Daniel Eichner, Philip Fletcher, Meghan Grady, Joel Reuben Ganz, Dan Istrate, Julia Kunina, Olena Kushch, Irakli Kavsadze, Geoff Nelson, Armand Sindoni, Irina Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger, Michael C. Wilson, Andrew Zox.

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Reviewed September 24
Running time 1:40 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for Synetic's unique style brought to the classic tale
Click here to buy the novel

Storyline: An English clerk travels to Transylvania to assist in the financial affairs of a mysterious count who learns of the charms of his fiancée. The count follows him back to London where his need for fresh sources of human blood results in disasters of ever increasing horror.

The classic vampire story by Bram Stoker, Irish writer and theater manager (his "day job" was managing London's Lyceum Theatre), was published in 1897 and has gone on to be adapted into about as many different formats as you can name - movies, television shows, spin-off novels, comic books, ballets, Broadway shows. Part of the reason is the strength of the underlying story - the legend that Stoker used to support his tale of the people affected by the actions of the vampire. Given that audiences everywhere already know the basic concept that a bat-like man, who only shows himself in the darkness, can live forever if he continues to drink human blood and that his bite spreads his condition to his victims, Stoker was free to embellish with touches both sexual and romantic. They make the story well suited to the florid style of the Tsikurisvilis and their troupe.

Paata Tsikurisvili directs and portrays the title character. Note the use of "portrays" rather than "plays." This performance is less a piece of acting than a piece of representing the essence of a legend. He floats across the stage with a grace that would seem to be the product of a mechanical stage device such as the platform and pulley assembly used on Broadway. Here it is simply his own incredible body control aided by the drape of his cape. The intensity of his gaze is the same as it was in The Master and Margarita and Hamlet...The Rest is Silence, but here it is aided by a new fashion in his beard that makes him even more otherworldly (or is that undeadlike?). He is also credited along with Irakli Kavsadze for the sound design which relies on pre-recorded music to create the aural equivalent of the visual feast on stage.

Jonathan Levek, long time regular as an actor in the Tsikurishvilis shows, provides the script for this fifteen-scene, one-act version of the story. It is a fine example of clarity in an adaptation which doesn't rely on any synopsis printed in the program to give the audience a head start. He knows the need of the performers in this form of theater for short scenes with very specific stories. Note the titles of some of them: "Jonathan's Arrival", "Lucy's Transformation", "The Destruction of London." Each gives the director as well as choreographer, Irina Tsikurishvili, a specific story element to mount with clarity and the fifteen member cast takes full advantage of each opportunity on the small, constricted stage at the Spectrum. The result is an evening where the intensity rarely slackens.

Written by Jonathan Leveck based on the novel by Bram Stoker. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set and costumes) Catherine Gasta (masks) Colin Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Nicholas Allen, Cyana Cook, Philip Fletcher, Dan Istrate, Miquel Jarquin-Moreland, Irina Koval, Anna Lane, Greg Marzullo, Geoff Nelson, Jodi Niehoff, Armand Sindoni, Paata Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger.

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Reviewed May 14
Running time 2:20 - one intermission
Strikingly visual fusion of dance and drama

Storyline: Jason, heir to the throne of a Greek kingdom, must travel far from home in search of "the golden fleece," the preserved pelt of a flying ram. There he meets and marries the daughter of the local king but doesn't remain true to her. Her revenge is terrible, as she kills the children they conceived together.

Rather than titling the piece "Jason and the Argonauts," adaptor Suzen Mason might well have titled it "Jason and Medea" for the voyage of the Argo, and all the legends of the monsters he had to overcome on his quest, take a back seat to the monster he met in Georgia - Medea, daughter of the local king. Mason's script seems to bear more resemblance to the libretto for a ballet than the script of a play. In its structure it provides many fine opportunities for motion to move the story along, but it has a number of moments when the momentum seems to be interrupted for spoken lines which lack the eloquence of the movements. It is a testament to the skill of director Paata Tsikurishvili that many of the gaps are filled by images that are clear and concise.

Titling the piece "Jason and Medea" would also be the more descriptive because, while the show utilizes the considerable talents of a dozen strong dancing actors and actresses, it is the Jason and the Medea who are called upon to carry the show. Greg Marzullo is Jason. His chiseled features and athletic build help him stand out in the crowd on the fairly small stage in the Spectrum, but it is his intensity that really drives his scenes. Irina Tsikurishvili dances the part of Medea with her usual grace, passion and concentration. She is less satisfying in the dialogue scenes. Still, whether you credit the power of her final scene, the killing of her children, to her talent as a performer, to her skill as a choreographer or to director Paata Tsikurishvili's staging, it remains a remarkable moment.

Just as the performances of Marzullo and Tsikurishvili aren't solo pieces, but are part of an ensemble effort featuring notable work from Irakli Kavsadze, Armand Sindoni, Jodi Niehoff and others, they also aren't working on an empty stage. Set and costume designer Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili has created another of his dramatic environments with minimal material, leaving plenty of room for movement on the small stage of the Spectrum. His set is essentially a scaffold with dangling ropes which are manipulated by the cast to create many different shapes. Much of the feeling of time and place comes from his costumes of burnished bronze toned tunics and blood red gowns. At the rear of the stage, dimly lit by Colin Bills, hovers the object of the quest, the golden fleece itself. It is but one of many arresting images in a show filled with striking effects.

Adapted by Suzen Mason from traditional sources and a play by Franz Grillparzer. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili (set and costumes) Colin Bills (lights) Paata Tsikurishvili and Irakli Kavsadze (sound) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Nicholas Allen, J.J. Area, Philip Fletcher, Katherine Hill, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Koval, Anna Lane, Greg Marzullo, Geoff Nelson, Jodi Niehoff, Armand Sindoni, Nathan Weinberger.

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Reviewed January 29
Running time 1:15 - no intermission
General admission seating

Storyline: From creation at the molecular level through to the apparent complexity of society in the twenty-first century and back again, this time at the technologically assisted molecular level of test-tube creation, the story of the development of the human spirit with its confounding mixture of virtue and wickedness is explored in ten frequently wordless scenes.

Synetic ("syn" from synthesis, "netic" from kinetic) has a mission of "fusing a myriad of theatrical elements - movement and text, poetry and dance, music and pantomime." Since splitting away from the Stanislavsky Theater Studio, Artistic Director Tsikurishvili and his troupe have applied this unique view of performing art to highly structured narrative works from literature such as a Bulkagov novel (The Master and Margarita), a Rezo Gabriadze screenplay (The Crackpots) and even a Shakespearean tragedy (Hamlet . . . The Rest is Silence). Now they try it without a net, so to speak, with no pre-existing work and no proven structure of story. Instead, they are working completely in the field of concepts and the abstractions of their performance practices makes the effort fascinating but confounding. Tsikurishvili provides Director's Notes in the program describing just what they are trying to do and the scene titles give clues as well. Audiences would be well served to review these before the lights go down.

Instead of stories, there are some identifiable personalities from Adam (the marvelously plastic faced Irakli Kavsadze) and Eve (striking Jodi Niehoff) with Cain (athletic Greg Marzullo) and Able (Philip Fletcher) to less concrete characters with less well established relationships such as Catherine Gasta as a Nature Spirit. Their performances are precise, evocative and often beautiful in a series of dances by Irina Tsikurishvili that use every speck of the small stage area inventively.

That small stage, and the other limitations of the 100-seat theater which works well for Classika's staple, their children's shows, but is woefully inadequate to contain the inventiveness evident here. The design includes some very sharp images which could fill a bigger field of view for the audience, including a moving skyline of human skyscrapers, while the sound system is insufficient to handle the lush audio effects. Part of the problem is the shallow rake of the seating -- there is just too much obscured when the action takes place on the floor.

Created and directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set and costumes) Cherie Siebert (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Raymond Gniewek (photography) Lawson Earl (stage manager). Cast: Catherine Gasta, Philip Fletcher, Irakli Kavsadze, Anna Lane, Greg Marzullo, Jodi Neihoff, Irina Tsikurishvili.

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Reviewed May 14
Running time 2 hours 35 minutes
Joint Production with Classika Theatre
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Storyline: The Devil journeys to Moscow at the height of the Stalinist era to host his annual ball in a city that is “neither Heaven nor Hell.” For his Queen of the Ball, he picks Margarita who is in love with “The Master,” a writer who was working on a novel about the torment of Pontius Pilot but who has been shut up in an insane asylum. All three worlds - Moscow, the Asylum and the Jerusalem setting of The Master's novel - come into play in a blend of imagery and movement.

Roland Reed, the playwright in residence at Synetic, tackled the tough task of turning novel into play, something he has done with great skill here at Synetic and at its previous collaborative partnership, the Stanislavsky Theater Studio. His adaptation for the stage of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov was a rather too full evening but hued closely and clearly to the novel's story, and his work on Chekhov's The Seagul kept the atmospheric nature of its source. His best work was Host and Guest which we called "absorbing, mesmerizing, riveting – and different."  In adapting Bulgakov, he concentrates on the opportunities for stagecraft more than the elements of story, and it makes the result a bit confusing, especially in the second act when the blend of different worlds is at its most complex. He and his partners could not have known when they decided to stage this story that the news in the real world would make the visual imagery of a key plot event so strong as to distract from the rest of the story - once they get to the beheading which is so marvelously staged, it is difficult to focus on the subsequent plot points with the thoughts of Nick Berg so forcefully driven home.

Paata Tsikurishvili directs as well as taking the role of the master. As a director he marshals marvelous images along with his designers Anastasia Ryurikov Simes and Colin K. Bills. As a performer, his stage presence is as strong as ever, and his ability to communicate his character's thoughts as clearly as his actions remains extraordinary. That cast includes Armand Sindoni who, after impressing in a smaller role in Crackpots, commands the stage here as the devil figure. Just in case anyone might miss his resemblance to Lenin, his entrance features his profile backed by billowing red banners creating a living version of a propaganda poster.

Irina Tsikurishvili both choreographs the entire production and acts as well as dancing in the role of Margarita. Her work is clean and clear but uses one strange effect that simply doesn't seem to work in context. She has a scene where she views herself in a full length mirror. Visible in the mirror is her "reflection" which is a partially unclothed dancer doing an undulating dance that one supposes is supposed to be a reflection of what Margarita thinks she may look like. But the use of a dancer with a very different body type than Tsikirishvili's creates a striking distraction in an evening with a few too many distractions.

Written by Roland Reed based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Anastasia Ryurikov Simes (set and costumes) Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze and Paata Tsikurishvili (sound) Stan Barouh (photography). Cast: Nicholas Allen, Dave Bobb, Philip Fletcher, Catherine Gasta, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, Irakli Kavsadze, Anna Lane, John Milosich, Geoff Nelson, Armand Sindoni, Mike Spara, Irina Tsikurishvili, Paata Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger.

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Reviewed January 30
Running time 1 hour 45 minutes
t A Potomac Stages Pick for
 fabulous flights of fancy

Storyline: In a village in what is today the Republic of Georgia, a young man is imprisoned when he falls in love with a woman who has attracted the eye of the chief of the local police. In prison he meets an old man also serving time for falling in love. With a forty-eight year term, the old man has plenty of time to pursue his dream of building a flying machine. The younger man brings fresh eyes to his calculations and together they take to the skies.

There is a circus-like feel to the opening of this unique entertainment as the troupe takes its place on stage before assuming characters, each performer facing the audience and grinning with an expression that says “we know you are going to enjoy this.” Then the lights go down. When they come back up everyone is in character and the world of this ageless Georgian village has sprung to vibrant life. Performed without an intermission, the show casts its spell and doesn’t let go.

Greg Marzullo teams up with Tsikurishvili to portray the two prisoners of love who aspire to flight. Marzullo is bright, young and often very funny with the physical humor of a good mime. The part is a speaking one but it is the work of his body and his facial expressions that are paramount. Tsikurishvili brings a maturity and the slightest touch of sadness to the team, creating a unique blend of inexhaustible optimism with a dash of regret over the lost opportunities of the past.

Choreography is an inseparable element in all that Synetic does and Irina Tsikurisvili’s work as choreographer is seamlessly blended into the staging. Irakli Kavsadze and Nicholas I. Allen are the two greatest beneficiaries of the blend of dance and movement, the former as the buffoon of a police chief and the later as a chicken who is the side-kick of Marzullo’s character. Or is it that Tsikurishvili is the beneficiary of their unique talents in key roles? Whichever, the result is part of the magic being performed.

Adapted and directed by Paata Tsikurishvili from the film by Rezo Gabriadze. Choreography by Irina Tsikurishvili. Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili (set and costumes), Colin K. Bills (lights) Irakli Kavsadze (sound) Stuart Gelzer (music consultant). Cast: Nicholas I. Allen, Shannon Dunne, Catherine Gasta, Irakli Kavsadze, Greg Marzullo, John Milosich, Geoff Nelson, Armand Sindoni, Mike Spara, Paata Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger.

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Reviewed October 10
Running time 1 hour 35 minutes
t Potomac Stages Pick

When it premiered last year in the Church Street Theater, this Hamlet represented another step in the introduction of unique theatrical presentations which the Potomac Region has been enjoying since the formation of the Stanislavsky Theater Studio in 1997 by Paata Tsikurishvili, Andrei Malaev-Babel and their colleagues. The inaugural offering of Tsikurishvili’s spin-off from STS, Synetic Theater, in their new home at the Rosslyn Spectrum, is the revival of last year’s Helen Hayes Award winner (outstanding play, outstanding direction, outstanding choreography). As it did at the smaller, more intimate and older Church Street, here in this modern and perhaps overlarge hall, this Hamlet has all the hallmarks we have come to expect, the emphasis on motion and rhythm, the concentration on visual effect, the reduction of theatrical material to its essence. Its magic is cast completely without spoken language. The subtitle of this Hamlet has been changed from "performed through the art of silence" to “the rest is silence” but music remains an integral part of the experience.  

Storyline: The prince of Denmark discovers that his uncle has murdered his father, the King, and wed his mother, the Queen. The quest for vengeance results in the deaths of guilty and innocent alike.

The work of William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the grandest product of the English language, yet Tsikurishvili and his Synetic Theater Company strip one of his most famous plays of its language. "To be, or not to be" never passes the lips of Tsikurishvili, who acts the part of Hamlet as well as directs this production. Silent or not, this is not, strictly speaking, either a dance piece or a mime. It is very much a theater piece and the performers, skilled dancers as they are, are actors first.  It is highly choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili who also performs as Ophelia, Hamlet’s beloved. The choreography is in the service of a dramatic piece of theater instead of the other way around. Dance isn’t the reason this piece exists, drama is.

But there is a similarity to classic ballet in the approach. Just as the best ballet captures the essence of character, place and emotion, so does this piece. It reduces Shakespeare's plot to 14 short scenes which, like a ballet, only sketch the events. Instead of expressing those essences in the classical vocabulary of specific dance moves and postures, it uses the vocabulary of theater with all the attention to facial expression, gesture and body language along with scenic design, lighting and costuming. Although there are extended periods when silence almost becomes audible, the majority of the piece most certainly isn't silent. It is set to music by the contemporary Georgian composer Giya Kancheli and an uncredited piece of Mahler’s fifth symphony.

This Hamlet is surely a Hamlet. The story is all here and, after all, the tale didn’t begin with Shakespeare. He drew his story – as he almost always did – from pre-existing sources. The tale can be traced back at least as far as a Danish historian’s work around 1200, almost as long before Shakespeare as Shakespeare was before us. But the structure of the bard’s treatment is captured in this production. Is it Shakespeare? Well, not his language, but his drama. Besides, it is extraordinarily beautiful.

Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili. Music selections from Giya Kancheli (and Gustav Mahler). Design: Georgi Alexi-Meskishvilii (set and costumes) Colin K. Bills (lights) Stan Barouh (photography). Cast: Shannon Dunne, Catherine Gasta, Irakli Kavsadze, Irina Koval, Jonathan Laveck, Greg Marzullo, John Milosich, Armand Sindoni, Irina Tsikurishvili, Paata Tsikurishvili, Nathan Weinberger.

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Reviewed April 5
Running time 40 minutes +

Storyline: A wacky, bumbling scientist working in his laboratory spills some of the formula on which he has been working. He wipes it up with a rag and the rag comes to life but the effect is neither long lasting nor controllable so he continues working and creates a robot to help around the lab. The robot gets out of control, however, and he struggles to get things back to normal.

Both members of the cast are veterans of productions in the mainstage programs of Stanislavsky. Irakli Kavsadze, makes a whimsical mime whose clowning around is both funny and impressive. Catherine Gasta is both the rag animated by the effects of the spilled formula (the flubber) and the robot, infusing each with a different personality.

Irina Tsikurshvili choreographed this short piece with her husband, Paata Tsikurishvili, directing. As audiences have come to expect, when these two get together to mount a show, it is visually striking and tells its story clearly. Paata also provides the sound design, a musical montage that sets a bright and lively mood for the piece.

Kids who are intrigued by the concept of mime are invited on stage after the performance and the cast teaches them some basic moves and effects. At the performance we reviewed, all but two of the kids in the audience went up on stage which indicates just how intrigued they all were.   

Direction and sound design by Paata Tsikurishvili. Choreography by Irina Tsikurishvili. Costumes by Catherine Gasta. Cast: Irakli Kavsadze, Catherine Gasta.