Metamorphoses: A Play [Paperback]

Mary Zimmerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2002

Based on Ovid's fifteen volume work of transformation myths, the tone of Mary Zimmerman's drama superbly echoes the play's theme of change as its physical production evolves onstage.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

First performed by students at Northwestern University, where playwright Zimmerman is a professor of performance studies (she is also Manilow Resident Director at the Goodman Theater in Chicago), this play opened at Broadway's Circle on the Square Theater in March 2002. Based on Ovid's transformation myths, the play subtly mixes the ancient stories of pathos and tragedy with contemporary language, humor, and thought, all enacted in and around a large pool of water in the center of the stage. The themes of love, the inevitability of change, and the human ability to adapt to change are timeless, as is amply demonstrated by the sometimes eerie closeness of a vignette to the original lines from Ovid, which still manage to resonate with modern viewers. The volume includes the script, a production history, and photographs from several productions. A valuable addition to either drama/ theater or mythology collections, this play by Zimmerman, who has also adapted and directed The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Odyssey, The Arabian Nights, and others, is highly recommended for public, academic, and high school libraries. Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh Performing Arts
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...Zimmerman's lovely, deeply affecting work...shows that theater can provide not just escape but sometimes a glimpse of the divine." -- Time Magazine

"Mary Zimmerman's beautiful and deeply humane Metamorphoses...arrives in this wounded city like a small gift from the gods" -- Wall Street Journal

"With its emphases on...the transforming powers of...the imagination...the production has been reducing calloused New Yorkers to sobs." -- New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press (March 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810119803
• ISBN-13: 978-0810119802
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Play for the Human Spirit, May 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Metamorphoses: A Play (Paperback)

This is the play that should have won this year's Pulitzer, and if there's any justice, the Broadway production will take away a Tony. I can only imagine what this is like onstage, but even in script form it is a poetic, witty, and extremely moving experience. How Zimmerman managed to condense Ovid's sprawling work into this deft stage piece is a mystery, but she has constructed a fluid, fascinating play that transcends genres, race, religion, and politics to speak to the hopes and desires of all human beings. Like "Copenhagen" and "The Invention of Love", this is one of those plays that reminds me why I love live theater. There is hope after all! Buy it, read it, cherish it--and if you're lucky enough to be in New York, GO SEE IT!

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plays better than it reads, August 18, 2003

By 

J. Ott "John Ott" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Metamorphoses: A Play (Paperback)

This is not a play script in the traditional sense. This is part of the new trend of director-centered theater, where concept is all. In this case the concept is a pool, where several of Ovid's tales of strange-changes-in-the-night take place in and around. This is one of the better examples of concept theater, and it won many awards on Broadway (but not for script). Reading the original Ovid is preferable to reading descriptions of how the pool should be lit, or what music plays through scene changes. But seeing it? If done right, this material could be incredibly visually striking.

I'd advise stage directors to take a peek. This is director-friendly material. Actors, playwrights, and general readers I'd steer towards Ted Hughes' TALES FROM OVID.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely breathtaking, especially if you've seen the play., January 7, 2011

By 

Irina Greenman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Metamorphoses: A Play (Paperback)

Like all plays, this is meant to be seen rather than read. That said, if you have seen the play, the published script beautifully evokes the visuals of what you saw on stage. If you were curious as to the thought processes behind some of the things you saw, this script will satisfy many of those questions.

The play itself is brilliant beyond description. It carries the audience through a range of emotional experiences, and finishes with one of the most beautiful endings I've ever seen in any medium - wild horses could not drag it out of me.

As a classicist whose primary research interest lies in the works of Ovid, I of course recommend reading the original work (the epic poem, Metamorphoses) before reading this script or seeing the play. Doing so will further enhance your appreciation. Having studied Ovid's writing intensively, I can say that I believe Ovid would have appreciated this play; it captures his sense of humor, and his wry and irreverent humor, combined with stark cynicism about the real nature of the world in which he lived.