Pitt Rep presents bumpy but enjoyable double-feature

“Henna Night” and “Sparagmos”

Now – Sunday

Studio Theatre in the Cathedral of… “Henna Night” and “Sparagmos”

Now – Sunday

Studio Theatre in the Cathedral of Learning basement

Student tickets $8 at the door, $13 online

Grade: B

In a double feature that will run through Sunday, the members of Pitt Repertory Theatre demonstrate the versatility of their talents and tastes.

The two plays, showing together in the Cathedral of Learning’s cozy Studio Theater, have little in common. “Henna Night” and “Sparagmos,” which run at about an hour apiece, were written in very different times and convey very different themes. “Henna Night” is a modern, urban play about the interactions of women, whereas “Sparagmos” is an adaptation of a traditional Greek tragedy.

“Henna Night,” directed by Pitt senior Jess Edelstein, is the better of the two plays. It contains just one scene, which takes place in the apartment of the recently heartbroken Judith (junior Chelsea McCune). The story begins with an introductory voicemail in which Judith begs her ex-boyfriend Jack to take her back. She is desperate. She even hints at the possibility of a pregnancy.

When the voicemail ends, Judith answers a visitor at her door. Instead of finding Jack, however, she discovers his new lover, Ros, played by sophomore Chelsea Strub.

The whole play is an account of the ensuing conversation between Judith and Ros. Judith is understandably contemptuous of Ros’ perceived homewrecking capabilities, but Ros defends her actions intelligently and gracefully. By the end, both characters come to deserve our sympathy.

The play earns high marks across the board. Its great success is its levelheaded treatment of the characters’ viewpoints and the wonderfully nuanced acting of McCune and Strub. While it would have been easy for London-based playwright Amy Rosenthal to portray Ros as a villain, she smartly avoids it. Nor does she portray Judith as irreconcilably bitter or inept.

The dialogue is both delicate and witty, making use of invented truisms while elaborating on old ones. Although the women’s pretext for meeting is their mutual, but obviously conflicting, fondness for the same man, the play is not really about him at all. It is about the compassion and complexity of the women. It is enjoyable to watch as their relationship subtly evolves and they begin to understand each other.

The David Bisaha-directed “Sparagmos,” on the other hand, is a flawed production. Based upon Greek playwright Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” it contains all of the traditional themes of a Greek drama, along with some of the pitfalls.

Enraged by the people of Thebes for scrutinizing his customs, the god Dionysus swears retribution against the city’s ruler Pentheus, who is brazen and hubristic. Pentheus is appalled by the Bacchic customs that are sweeping through rural Greece and is willing to fight off those who would introduce them to his city.

The Bacchae are a group of Theban women whom Dionysus has possessed. Their behavior alternates from serene to savage, at the god’s command. At one moment they sit, beautifully poised, in the forest. In the next, they are tearing through a bull’s flesh as if it were cellophane. To punish Pentheus, Dionysus disguises himself as a man and attempts to lure him toward the Bacchae.

There are scenes in which the Bacchae perform worship dances for their god. The actresses are hardly dancers, but they perform the choreography well enough. The accompanying music, particularly the song “Cosmic Love” by Florence and The Machine, suits the dances perfectly.

But “Sparagmos” suffers from a small budget and excessive acting. Of course, Pitt Rep can hardly be blamed for the first, but this is clearly a play that requires more scene changes and special effects than either such an ill-equipped theater or such a scant budget can permit. However, Bisaha, a Pitt doctoral student, makes do with what he has.

Tragedy is certainly a difficult medium to perform. When actors are supposed to be hysterical, many have a tendency to stress too many of their syllables. They lose their patience and forget to breathe. Instead of speaking from their diaphragms, they begin to speak high up in their throats. Some of the actors in “Sparagmos” fall into that trap, and at times I wanted a change in the dynamics of their voices.

Overall, “Henna Night” and “Sparagmos” make for an entertaining — if at times uneven — two hours.