Excess violence onstage can be self-defeating. Noah Haidle's "Persephone," now having its world premiere directed by Nicholas Martin, could have an unnecessary amount of incidental staged violence, even for a tragicomedy. After a while, even the most sophisticated audience may tune out yet another instance of man's inhumanity to man. But a stunning performance by local actress/playwright Melinda Lopez as the statue of Demeter, Persephone's earth-goddess mother, overshadows the playwright's excesses.
Seated for most of the show, Lopez, under Martin's direction, creates a warm and witty characterization of a Renaissance statue observing five-hundred years of the passing scene. In the second act, which Haidle wrote first, she's the centerpiece of a Manhattan park, the target of passing pigeons, grafitti artists, and acid rain. Throughout the winter, a seemingly random series of repulsive incidents from which Demeter cannot look away unfolds until the play reaches an epiphany at its close. The logic of fantasy which has been burbling below the quasi-realism of the scene burst forth. The author's imagination has a Durang-like quality, though his worldview is distinctly has own.
The first act, where the other three actors in the piece are introduced is set in Florence, 1507, the time of Leonardo. In Guiseppi's studio, Seth Fisher is carving a statue of Demeter as a commission from Alfonso, played by Jeremiah Kissell. Mimi Lieber is his free-spirited model, an all-purpose Muse to the sculptors of Florence. Kissell also briefly appears as a laid-back harpist and a starving Mouse, in the first indication that this piece is a full-fledged fantasy. In the second half, these three will play a large variety of street types, with Kissell taking the prize as an art-loving Rat. In Haidle's rich use of language, "Persephone" harks back to plays written just after WWII and earlier in the century which freely mix period and modern speech plus symbolic animal characters. The limited cast, which has the three auxiliary players going through constant costume changes emphasizes their transience compared to Demeter's marble placidity. This is one show where the offstage dressers deserve program credit.
For its first time out, Haidle's script is quite developed, and with further effort, some judicious trimming, and possibly a few more minor sub-plots in the second half, could develop into a minor masterpiece. This production is helped by David Korin's unstinting sets, Jenny Mannis' detailed costumes--including Lopez's draperies, atmospheric lighting by Ben Stanton, and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett. Despite its more gruesome moments "Persephone" is highly entertaining.