The Dance of Death at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

The Dance of Death

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd Los Angeles

Ron Sossi directs Conor McPherson's new version of August Strindberg's biting black comedy. On an isolated island, military captain Edgar and his wife Alice, a former actress, live a bitter life, their marriage soured by hatred. As their 25th anniversary approaches, the two face off in a fierce battle of wills. When Alice's cousin, Kurt arrives, he is quickly ensnared in the couple's wicked game. A deliciously dark, relentlessly brutal and fiercely funny look at love everlasting.

Thru - Nov 19, 2017

Price: $25-$34

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 310-477-2055

www.odysseytheatre.com

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The Dance of Death Reviews

Average Rating based on 7 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Recommended

"..."The Dance of Death" has enjoyed something of a resurgence thanks to Irish playwright Conor McPherson's 2012 adaptation, which streamlined the character set, vernacular and stilted dialogue of previous translations from the original Swedish. In this staging, Odyssey Artistic Director Ron Sossi wrings every drop of black humor from McPherson's sharp-edged verbal assaults. Larson and Kimball frequently draw laughs with their perfectly-inflected insults. The disintegrating civility of LeBeau's Kurt in the face of Edgar's needling and Alice's seduction is particularly well-focused."

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- Philip Brandes

Broadway World - Highly Recommended

"...Lizzy Kimball captivatingly dominates with her role of the trapped, unloved(?) wife; now more caretaker, cook, and maid to Edgar. Kimball manages to earn audience empathy while seductively stirring up Kurt's long dormant lust for her Alice."

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- Gil Kaan

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Overall, though, his text is tight and intelligent. And as LeBeau so ably demonstrates, the subtlety and depth is there for the playing."

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- Samuel Garza Bernstein

Theatre Spoken Here - Highly Recommended

"...August Strindberg wrote scathing plays, exposing the hypocrisies within class conflict and modern marriage in his Swedish society. When, as a young actress, I played Miss Julie I was hooked on his understanding of female sexuality and the rage concealed within a rigid class system. In this tragical comedy, The Dance of Death, he tackles the game-playing in marriage and it's a no-holds-barred Battle of the Sexes."

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- Murphy Martell

Stage Raw - Recommended

"...Edward Albee, and possibly Alan Ayckbourn, were likely influenced by this seldom produced work of Strindberg's, and there is something eerily Beckettian about the final scene, where Edgar, seated motionless in his chair balefully intones, "you keep going." There is much to enjoy in this production. The dialogue is sharp, humorous, and downright ugly at times, and the performances are quite good. Larson blends a pitiful vulnerability with bully swagger, while Kimball is very much the cunning lynx. The piece is nicely complemented by Chu-Hsuan Chang's lighting."

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- Lovell Estell III

Theatre Notes - Highly Recommended

"...Odyssey Theatre Ensemble has mounted a classic play ideal in all ways. It is darkly, bitterly comedic, with characters who reveal themselves to possess no nobility whatsoever. It is a rare gem not to be missed."

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- Paul Myrvold

USTheatre - Recommended

"...These three characters demand such a high degree of subtle vulgarity that they are nearly impossible to perform except by the very greatest of actors. I'd like to have seen a production with Katherine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier (who did play the Edgar role in 1967) , for example, or Vanessa Redgrave and some male of her league. Kimball, Larson and Jeff LeBeau, however, make a credible attempt to convey the dark comedic world that Strindberg created, and at moments Kimball's tortured beauty and Larson's dapper, if crazed, dances lift us to something close to the play's demands."

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- Douglas Messerli