A Mashup For the Ages

We live in a very heavy, serious world.  There’s so much going on that’s scary, that challenges us every day.  And there’s so much of that in the media we consume, as well.  But sometimes, we get gifted some small things.  And one of those small things that I got to experience was Oedipus in Seattle, currently playing at Theatre Horizon.  This play was an absolute laugh filled gem where I didn’t think about all the darkness in the world for an hour.  I feel like we don’t have enough of that right now, which is really what set this play apart from the other things we’re all going through right now.

The concept is simple.  Two actors.  No rehearsal.  No prior looking at the script.  Oh, and it’s a mashup of the story of Oedipus and the movie Sleepless in Seattle.  Did I mention every show stars two different actors?  Should I keep going?  For such a simple idea, Oedipus in Seattle managed to get so much done in an hour.  In all honesty, I don’t think I even realized how badly I needed something like that in my life.  I went in knowing the bare minimum, and walked out feeling super enriched and uplifted.

The actors I saw were Amanda Morton and Josh Totora.  Before the show, I learned that they are a real life husband and wife team.  I’ve never worked on a show with a significant other, but I can imagine it could go really well or really badly.  The thing about Oedipus in Seattle was that there was really nothing leading up to the two of them being on stage together.  I think that’s got to take a lot of trust and courage.  The two of them were instructed on what to do by a voice over, as well as headphones that (I presume) gave instructions to just the two of them.

And that’s sort of how the show went.  We (sort of) got the story of Oedipus, and (sort of) got the story of Sleepless in Seattle, but the mashup was absolutely fantastic…and they really found a way to make it work.  I definitely have no idea how they did it, but they seriously pulled it off and it was absolutely hilarious.  There was so much improv involved, so many moments of vulnerability for each actor…it must have been a lot of fun to do, but also totally terrifying.

After watching the show, I understood why it featured two different actors in each show.  This is a show that could never be the same twice.  It’s part of the genius of it…Oedipus in Seattle is designed to give the audience a different experience with each show.  I could have seen all of the performances, and each of them would be different.  It’s an extremely unique approach to theatre, and an extremely brilliant approach to theatre.  Isn’t that the point of it, anyway?  To just get up there and have fun…put on a good show…do something special every night?  In a crazy way, Oedipus in Seattle captured everything about theatre.

For as much as the audience didn’t know what to expect, the actors confessed that they didn’t either!  Sure enough, Totora had never even seen Sleepless in Seattle.  These actors are all going into this show completely blind.  By pushing them into these crazy positions, this play really tests what actors can do.  I know we’re supposed to be prepared for anything on stage and all, but this takes it to the next level.  It’s the type of fun, experimental thing we all need in our lives.  And I absolutely loved it for that.

One really deep thing from this show, and the marrying of Oedipus and Sleepless in Seattle, was the idea they present of destiny versus choice.  If you know anything about either, or both of these stories, you know there’s a lot involved in them about the idea of destiny versus choice.  And even though the ideas are pretty heavy, they were presented with a good amount of levity.  I think it’s things we encounter in this world regularly, but the end of Oedipus in Seattle really addressed this.  It wrapped up the play really nicely…it could be applied to every moment of the show.  For a comedy like this, they really did a good job tying the loose ends.

These are scary times we’re living in.  And theatre, although a good escape, is sometimes just as heavy as the world around us.  We need shows like Oedipus in Seattle to remind us that the entire world isn’t bad.  That there’s light and hope and promises for better times.  I sat in a theatre watching two actors have absolutely no idea what they were doing, and I felt better for it all.  They gave me something that I’ve never experienced before, and I’m sure I’ll never experience again.  So yes, it is definitely possible to mash Oedipus and Sleepless in Seattle together successfully.  I never thought I’d get to say that, but I’m damn glad that I now have.