An Uneven Version of ‘The Vakhos’

Open Fist Theatre Company’s adaptation of Euripides’ “The Vakhos” (more familiarly known as “The Bacchae”) at the Los Angeles Playhouse is a challenging but failed mix of the visually stunning and the textually banal.

From the get-go, the production is awash in period Greek ambience. Baskets of fruit circulate among playgoers, who lounge on tiered cushions. (Conventional seating is also available.) Mist fills the altar-like grotto of Yiannis Papadopoulos’ lush set, which Yiannis Samaras lights in murky shades of erotic blue and sanguinary red. The primitive rhythms of live music induce an appropriately trance-like susceptibility.

Director-adapter Dean Odysseus Yacalis shows the same visual verve in his propulsive staging. Unfortunately, Yacalis mistakes aerobic freneticism for divine frenzy, causing his agile cast to emphasize sheer physicality over the play’s weightier themes.

Faun-like Dionysus (Francis DellaVecchia) and muscular Pentheus (Grant Mathis) are striking physical opposites, yet Dionysus’ opening monologue is largely lost in his ritualistic dance with his worshipers. Once under his nemesis’ sensual spell, Pentheus drops his voice to an inaudible murmur. Sculptor, flutist and mask-maker Dale M’Hall wears one hat too many as the blind seer Tereisius. An exception among these lackluster performances, Martha Demson portrays Pentheus’ ill-fated mother Agave with classically honed force and skill.

* “The Vakhos,” Los Angeles Playhouse, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends June 28. $15. (213) 882-6912. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.