‘Lysistrata’ Eschews the Low Road

The peace cry of the ‘60S, “Make love, not war,” might have been coined in ancient Greece by Aristophanes, except that he was more tough-minded than the flower-power generation.

In his feminist, anti-war farce “Lysistrata”--first produced in Athens in 411 BC, after 20 years of devastating military conflict with Sparta--all the women of Greece form a united front against all the men and issue an ultimatum: Quit making war or we won’t make love .

While the goals of both declarations are the same, of course, the tactical implications are considerably different: One offers seduction; the other requires self-sacrifice.

“Lysistrata,” which opened over the weekend at the Alternative Repertory Theatre in Santa Ana, leaves no doubt that a bedroom strike won’t be easy for lusty women who claim that they’d rather walk barefoot on hot coals than give up their carnal pleasures.

Already feeling sexually deprived because their husbands have been gone so long in battle, they lament the absence of substitute lovers and even the scarcity of artificial sex toys. As for masturbation, they complain that it just doesn’t equal the real thing.

Furthermore, these women will not simply issue a no-sex ultimatum in the mere hope that it will be an effective measure for peace. They also will ensure that it works by enflaming their warrior men with desire and, at the risk of being raped, turn icy to drive home their point.

In the meantime, that grande dame strategist, Lysistrata, doesn’t overrate the power of sex. Getting the men of Athens to agree to a peace settlement with the Spartans is also a practical matter of financing. She exhorts the women to storm the Acropolis and seize the public treasury. “No more money, no more war,” she argues.

Still, Aristophanes never loses sight of the sexual satire. And the best scene in ART’s “Lysistrata” turns out, not surprisingly, to be a sendup of Myrrhine taking her randy husband Cinesias to bed--or so he thinks. Imbued with the spirit of farce, the seduction is too humorous to be obscene but just bawdy enough to seem, at least for a moment, risque.

In fact, this 90-minute production could use more daring on the whole. Here was the chance for director Patricia L. Terry to make an outrageous splash with a gutsy, brazen show that would test the limits of theatrical boldness, not to mention community standards.

Instead it fusses and winks, unable to decide whether it really wants to take responsibility for Aristophanes. It seems satisfied to get giggles from his wealth of double-entendres and phallic allusions. And that is all it gets, apparently preferring the safety of the timid vaudevillian to the risks of the master vulgarian.

Part of the blame lies in the choice of the translation, which casts a pseudo-classical pall on the language. As Lysistrata, Caryn Ronis shoulders the load to a fault, like a Shakespearean trouper in varying degrees of dudgeon. Somebody ought to sedate Amy Larson, though. She doubles as Calonice and Rhodippe in a non-stop, histrionic dither.

By contrast, M. James Breslin scores nicely with a low-key performance as Strymodorous. His ironic comments are models of precise timing. Breslin also doubles as Cinesias opposite Terra Shelman as Myrrhine. Scott Andrew Burchard plays the stentorian magistrate. Others in the cast are Michael McKay, Wendy Robinson and Lee Clark.

Where this production succeeds most effectively is in Christa Bartels’ spare scenic design. The minimalist set consists of a marble-like floor and four movable stelae to evoke the Acropolis. It not only looks good, it also solves the problem of cramped space that has plagued other productions in ART’s 61-seat, storefront theater-in-the-round.

Another notable touch is Gary Christensen’s sound design as well as his masks, which lend a certain charm to the lowbrow characters. Karen J. Weller’s peculiar headdresses are too ornate by half, yet they complement the pleasantly understated costumes.

For all its faults, this lightweight “Lysistrata” holds out the hope that ART’s third season will be brighter than the first two if only because the troupe now seems willing to entertain. Also, playgoers will not find a more immaculate little theater anywhere in the county.

‘LYSISTRATA’

A production of Aristophanes’ comedy by the Alternative Repertory Theatre, 1636 S. Grand Ave, Santa Ana. Through Nov. 18. Directed by Patricia L. Terry with the assistance of Joel T. Cotter. Produced by Kathleen A. Bryson. Lighting by David C. Palmer. Choreography by Cyrus Parker. Stage manager is Irene C. Turner. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $12 (or $10 for students and seniors). Information: (714) 836-7929.