REVIEW: At Rock Island’s Genesius Guild, Give Silly “Peace” a Chance
This summer has been a busy, productive one for T Green and Calvin Vo. Not only have the Haus of Ruckus writing and performing partners been co-starring in the fabulous Countryside production of “Hairspray” (continuing this weekend), the talented, satirical duo penned a super silly, slapstick adaptation of an ancient Greek comedy for the Genesius Guild season finale, premiering last weekend at Lincoln Park, 1120 40th St., Rock Island.
Green and Vo for the past four years have taken over a longtime Genesius Guild tradition of staging a modern version of an old Greek comedy to close the season, and have proven the perfect madcap creators for this task. Though I was not familiar with the original “Peace,” by Aristophanes, dating from 421 BC, I think it’s safe to say that beyond some of the primary characters and the opening scene, the new one-hour version bears little resemblance to its source.
Juno King, left, as Ares and Storm Marie Baca as Peace (photo by Jonathan Turner).
In “Peace,” Trygaeus, a middle-aged Athenian, miraculously brings about a peaceful end to the Peloponnesian War, thereby earning the gratitude of farmers while bankrupting various tradesmen who had profited from the hostilities.
Veteran actor – and Genesius artistic director – Marc Nelson steps out of the wings to gleefully take on the protagonist role of Trygaeus, and he looks like he has a ball with it. At the start of the new “Peace,” Nelson literally has a ball, a round pile of dung to feed a dung beetle. He’s accompanied by two dim-witted “interns,” played by Josef Bodenbender and Rodrigo Guevara.
Director Jacob Lund, right, plays a small part in “Peace” (photo by Jonathan Turner).
In the Aristophanes wacky original, Trygaeus rides on the back of the dung beetle, rising above a house and hovering in an alarmingly unsteady manner. His two slaves, his neighbors and his children take fright and they plead with him to come back down to earth. There is no such flight at Genesius, though there are many flights of fancy – both nonsensical and sincere. While the authors here clearly show the honorable wish for peace, in today’s polarized, war-torn times, the overall tone is obviously comic book and feather light. That’s literally reflected in the set’s colorful flats, which portray “Batman”-inspired panels with the large words, “Smash!”, “Thwack!”, “Zizz!”, “Bang!” and “Boop!”
It seems faintly ridiculous to try and summarize the plot of this very ridiculous “Peace” but safe to say, there are many inside jokes, about Genesius, Augustana College, the QC, podcasts, artificial intelligence, and the nature of theater itself. Several actors play more than one role, including Storm Marie Baca as the show’s frantic stage manager; a silent, sign-toting Peace, and a brief Zeus evangelist.
Joe Sager, left, and Juno King as Hullabaloo and Ares (photo by Jonathan Turner).
One running joke is having a “Beatle,” instead of a beetle, with Joe Sager as a goofball Ringo. In his mop-top wig, he sings “Hey, hey, we’re the Beatles,” to the Monkees’ theme song, and Nelson pegs him as a “flying Monkee,” and Sager briefly attaches lyrics from Ringo’s “Octopus’ Garden” to “Daydream Believer.”
While Nelson urges this motley crew to take action to bring about peace, their theme of apathy takes hold. One actor says, “Not caring is the cause I’m really passionate about.” A quartet of players later sings an over-long parody of the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” renamed “Apathy,” including the line, “You can’t lose if you’re not playing.”
Laurie Nelson, Nathan Elgatian, Rodrigo Guevara, and Guy Cabell sing “Apathy” to the tune of “Let It Be” (photo by Jonathan Turner).
Sager and Juno King are a hoot as Hullabaloo and Ares (Greek god of war), respectively. One clever scene has Guy Cabell as Hierocles bring out an Alexa-like device to serve as ChatGDelPhi, an ancient Greek AI oracle. They ask it questions about the future, and don’t get answers they’d like.
The “Peace” cast includes Nelson’s real-life wife Laurie, Nathan Elgatian and the show director Jacob Lund as a loud podcast host, Mr. Beasticus. While the show opened appropriately with a recording of “War (What Is It Good For?)”, I think they missed an opportunity to close with the Beatle-adjacent anthem, “Give Peace a Chance,” which John Lennon released in 1969 (before the Fab Four breakup). Instead of bows, the fun-filled company extends the last Genesius show tradition of running around the stage, and falling flat to the ground.
Before the production, Lund asked for support for the ongoing Genesius campaign to raise $1.5 million to rebuild the stage at Lincoln Park, where they’ve offered free productions of classic Greek tragedies, comedies and Shakespeare since the first production of “Antigone” in 1957.
The concrete under the stage has been settling for a number of years, and it has begun to shift at an increasingly rapid rate. The nonprofit hopes to rebuild the stage area. This includes development of a permanent stage, expanding the structure around the audience to improve sound quality, making the space more easily accessible, and creating permanent lighting rigging.
“Peace” will continue this coming Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. For more information, visit genesius.org.
Josef Bodenbender, left, and Marc Nelson in “Peace” at Genesius Guild (photo by Jonathan Turner).
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