A daring Homer

With some kinks still to be worked out

By Katherine Joyce

Matching Shadows with Homer plays at the Theater Project, in Brunswick, through April 7. Call (207) 729-8584.

SHADOW PLAYER: Al Miller perhaps takes on too much as writer, director, and star of Matching Shadows with Homer.

On a bike trip with his son in Washington, the Theater Project’s founder and artistic director, Al Miller, read a book called Biografi. It’s a true story of how, in the 1960s, an Algerian dentist named Petar Shapallo was taken from his mountain village and asked (forced) to serve the State in a unique capacity: He so closely resembled the Algerian dictator, Enver Hoxha, that he was made to act as Hoxha’s shadow — standing in for Hoxha when he had to be in two places at once. It’s an interesting tale that deals with life in a culture perceived to be very different from our own. Miller found the story so interesting, in fact, that he penned an entire play based on Shapallo’s experiences: Matching Shadows with Homer, which debuted last Friday.

Performed by a mainly ensemble cast, mainly in song, the play seems to have a little bit of everything, defying categorization. There is the traditional musical, there are elements of the Greek chorus, there are little glimpses of Brecht through the haze. In fact, there are so many styles mixed together, it sometimes seems like a bit of a muddle.

The set, costumes, and lighting are fairly straightforward, while the script and the music continually edge farther and farther away from simplicity. This is, perhaps, the downfall of the play. The plot, for instance, is a very traditional one, told in a fairly linear fashion. Although not entirely chronological, all jumps out of the chronology of the story are to the same characters in one time period. However, superimposed over this simple and interesting story are a number of unnecessary sub-plots, unexplained historical references, and a surprising Hee-Haw-esque number.

Although one might think that all of these layers could make for a riveting show, it is as if everything is cancelled out. It’s hard to pinpoint a single source of the trouble, but it’s certain that there is too much focus on the form and structure of the script, and not enough focus on the development of characters and relationships. This skewed focus may stem from the trappings of self-indulgence so difficult to avoid when the playwright directs and stars in his own work.

Let me begin with the technical stuff. The set consists of a ramp, an area for the musicians to perform, and a backdrop of pale fabric fashioned to look as if a huge face is pushing through. It is a stark and abstract look, and is a neutral enough background to remain constant through each scene in the play.

The costumes are slight variations on the same uniform. Each player is dressed in a shabby khaki overcoat and dark pants. They all look somewhat dirty and blend in with the neutral tones of the stage. The lights are a simple mix of blues, pinks, and ambers. There are no flashy lighting cues, but images are often projected onto the backdrop, adding texture and technology to an otherwise simple visual.

Composer Barbara Truex is a Portland-based musician. She describes Matching Shadows as “a musical, in the style of Brecht, so the music and the story are dependent on each other — the music becomes another character in the play.” It is true that the music was interesting, but it was not a separate character. Rather, it was a means of telling a story, just as in a traditional musical — though the style of music was very different from your typical Broadway number. There was only one somewhat Brechtian moment, when the cast broke out of the style of most of the music and sang a hoe-down. This wasn’t used as a tactic to break the audience out of an emotionally intense moment, however, but seemed tossed in there for one of the few laughs in the play.

The ensemble portion of the cast did a great job of performing. It was clear that a couple of them were stretching beyond their normal limitations to be involved in this type of a production. They were all required to sing and dance in creative ways, and they did so, even enthusiastically. But it was hard not to feel as though they were being good sports.

Miller, leading the ensemble as Shapallo, sets the tone for the play, and is singularly the least charismatic protagonist I have ever seen. Stories are interesting because of the experience they relate. Characters’ emotional lives are an important part of relating that experience. Shapallo is taken away from his wife and children, given a bizarre life of seclusion interspersed with moments when he gets to be King, and then deserted. To watch a character go through all of that in a mono-emotional contemplative trance is painful.

This play uses music, technology, dancing, chorus-like commentary, group numbers, solo numbers, time jumps, political commentary, and more to tell this simple story. With all of those things going on, the actors are forced to remove all of the subtlety from their performances to ensure the audience can take in everything and get the story straight.

It is inevitable that a struggle for a balance will occur in push-the-envelope plays, and the Theater Project and Miller are to be commended for producing and penning such and effort. Matching Shadows is simply still in a workshop stage where that balance has not been found.

Katherine Joyce can be reached at ingliskat@aol.com.