STAGE REVIEW : ‘Antigone’ Is Pretty Bauble, Hollow Bubble

SANTA ANA — An aura of make-believe settles over the Alternative Repertory Theatre’s version of “Antigone” right from the start. And it’s not just because director Joel T. Cotter has chosen the less-than-compelling framing device of a rehearsal to make Jean Anouilh’s 1942 drama “user friendly.”

Even if we were to accept Cotter’s idea that seeing a final run-through will draw us in more readily than a finished performance--and even if watching the troupe’s pre-show warm-ups were inherently interesting, which it’s not--”Antigone” turns out to be substantially beyond the reach of ART’s performance resources.

The result is a case of “let’s pretend.” The production, though high-minded and hard-working, comes off as amateurish. None of the players are credible in their roles, a sad fact underscored by their almost complete lack of transformation once they’ve limbered up, done their meditations, run through their vocalizations, fixed their hair and gotten into costume.

Put another way, ART’s offering seems the theatrical equivalent of a Cliff’s Notes summary. You get the scheme of the play. The plot is outlined, characters sketched, allusions dissected. But somehow the thing itself is missing. Anouilh’s existential treatment of the Antigone legend becomes as trivial as Creon, the king of Thebes, blowing bubbles.

At one point F. Thom Spadaro, who plays Creon, does, in fact, blow bubbles. Whether we’re meant to take that as a demonstration of Creon’s basically hopeful world view or as a goofy parody of it, I’m not sure. The gesture seemed heartfelt, especially coming from a king who looks like a medaled toy soldier in his royal blue jacket and gold epaulets.

Although Spadaro’s performance is variable, Creon is the production’s most fully realized character. He animates the role with enough range of expression to keep us tolerant of shallow play-acting.

Not so Louise Moore as Antigone, the proud but homely daughter of Oedipus who defies Creon’s order to leave her dead brother’s decomposing body rotting in the sun beneath the walls of Thebes as a warning to political enemies. Moore grits her teeth for intensity and delivers a lock-jawed performance.

Others, too, are stuck on the shoals, some with more stridence and some with less. As the toga-clad Chorus, Sarah Lang brings a one-note urgency to her lines. Kathy Byrd, who is done up in pink and white as Antigone’s beautiful sister, Ismene, verges on warmth but can’t escape the general inertia. And Derek Stefan, whose red cape and orange T-shirt give him the look of a comic-book hero, plays accordingly. His Haemon, son of Creon and lover of Antigone, is vital but tinny.

Ironically, the two elements that work best in ART’s attempt to “deconstruct” the play and make it relevant, are the very things that are most classical and most distancing: the set design of lintel friezes and marbleized flooring and the sound design. This is a production that gives great gong.

‘Antigone’

Sarah Lang Chorus

Louise Moore Antigone

Dawn Decker Nurse

Kathy Byrd Ismene

Derek Stefan Haemon

F. Thom Spadaro Creon

William Gillean Jonas

Stefanie Williamson Guard/Messenger

An Alternative Repertory Theatre presentation of the play by Jean Anouilh. Directed by Joel T. Cotter. Scenic design by D. Silvio Volonte. Costume, sound and mask design by Gary Christensen. Lighting by David C. Palmer. Through Nov. 14 at 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7 p.m. $13.50 to $16. (714) 836-7929.