Teen Cast Turns ‘Orpheus’ Myth Into Zesty Fun

For the first 10 minutes, Cal State Northridge’s “41st Annual Teenage Drama Workshop” musical comedy version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, “Bye, Bye Orpheus,” threatened to fall in the former category. Light cues went awry, leaving the cast in darkness twice, as the show opened with some static, expository dialogue, a “Greekarena” takeoff on the macarena and some very mildly amusing one-liners.

Then, surprise. This ambitious production took off, clipping merrily along with enough unexpected humor and musical zest to compensate for a few less assured or less inspired moments.

If you haven’t brushed up on classic mythology lately, the scoop is that when Greek singer Orpheus’ new bride, Eurydice, dies, he travels to the underworld and uses his spellbinding voice to persuade the god Pluto to release her from death. At the last minute, Orpheus fails in his quest and he’s destined to meet a pretty dire fate: He goes to pieces--literally.

In this wacky version, written by the program’s executive director, Doug Kaback, and directed by Irene Silbert, Orpheus’ grisly fate is one of the show’s best sight gags. Other high points include Cerberus (Felicia Giacomi, Julia Kushner and Melysa Reiss), the three-headed dog, attempting to roll over on command; Hades resident Tantalus (Danny Nathan), sentenced to an eternity of unquenchable thirst--a can of Coke dangling forever out of reach; and Charon (Bonnie Sludikoff), as a tough cabby working the River Styx route.

Hades itself is a satisfying sight, thanks to David Weiss’ dimensional, cavernous set design, and Ryan Morrow’s dynamic lights (after the early miscues).

They don’t have professional polish, nor in a few cases, a lot of savvy about speaking into standing mikes, but the actors put a lot of oomph into their performances and they’re well-served for the most part by Kaback, Silbert, choreographer Candy Sherwin and composer-songwriter Irwin Appel.

Appel challenges the teenagers but doesn’t overwhelm them with smooth, clever lyrics and energetic music, a deliberately derivative mix. Think “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Blues Brothers,” gospel and ‘50s rock.

The two leads are well-chosen too. Jonathan Shell, a strong singer, is a charmer as a stocky Orpheus with brash overtones of Elvis cool--and gold lame--plucking on cue a comical lyre designed to resemble a rocker’s guitar. Hallie Silverston, a very composed Eurydice, is transformed when she sings, her confident voice as pure and clear as a bell.

“Orpheus” isn’t the only workshop romp on tap this weekend: A played-for-laughs version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” directed by Cindy Kania and subtitled “A Costumer’s Nightmare,” features colorful characters who step out of a storybook setting. The third offering is a free “10 Minute Play Festival,” consisting of plays written by workshop students. The plays are in separate theaters.

* “41st Annual Teenage Drama Workshop,” Cal State Northridge, Speech Drama Building, 18111 Nordhoff St. “Bye, Bye, Orpheus”: Today, 2 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. $5. “The Emperor’s New Clothes”: Today, 2 p.m.; Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. $5. “10 Minute Play Festival”: Today, 7 p.m. Free. (818) 677-2488.