Centuries before Othello, and millennia before Black Panther, there was Memnon, the king of the Ethiopians, who came to the defense of Troy during the Trojan War. Homer mentions Memnon in both the Iliad and The Odyssey, and Virgil writes about him in the Aeneid, although he appears in all three works only briefly; Sophocles wrote an entire play about him, but it hasn’t survived.
Now Memnon is restored to glory by the Classical Theatre of Harlem, in a new play that opened last night in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park. Written by Will Power and directed by Carl Cofield, the same team behind CTH’s “Seize the King” four years ago, “Memnon” makes for a memorable theatrical outing: It’s free and outdoors; the staging is majestic, and the diction elevated (it’s a verse play written in iambic hexameter) so that it can feel like a genuine Ancient Greek tragedy; yet, the production also acknowledges its 21st century audience, with a running time of just 80 minutes, contemporary percussive music, dramatic design, graceful choreography and lively battle scenes.
The characters do tend to proclaim at length, much of it backstory, exposition. Memnon himself doesn’t appear until the third of seven scenes — although when he does, removing his helmet to reveal handsome Eric Berryman, some in the audience squealed.
As the play begins, Achilles has killed the great Trojan warrior Hector, who has almost singlehandedly protected Troy from the Greeks for the decade-long Trojan War. His death leaves Troy dangerously vulnerable, but Hector’s father King Priam of Troy (Jesse J. Perez) is reluctant to ask his nephew Memnon to travel from Ethiopia to come to Troy’s defense, despite the urging by both Trojan warrior Polydamas (David Darrow), and Helen, formerly of Sparta now of Troy (Andrea Patterson), whose abduction from Greece sparked the war to begin with.
As it turns out, Memnon, too, is reluctant to go to war. Indeed, we later learn, so is Achilles.
Memnon and Achilles are reluctant for much the same reason; they are sick of killing. As Achilles says “I despise not the Trojans, but gods that play chess with souls of men….No satisfaction will I get from killing pawns.”
But Memnon has another reason as well. Although officially a member of the Trojan royal family, years ago he learned that Priam had conspired to give him up to the Greeks as an offering to get them not to attack. The implication is that Priam felt free to betray him because he is half-African: “I was Troy but not fully Trojan/kin and not kin,” Memnon recalls bitterly. The betrayal convinced him to self-deport to Ethiopia.
There is a subtle allusion here to a pressing current-day question in the U.S. – who is an American? — , which is underscored as well when the characters mention another one of Hector’s noble actions — convincing the Trojan people to stop blaming Helen for the war: “Love her as if she was not foreigner but one of us/Of Troy, treat her as your younger sister or mother, lover or friend”
In what may be the most resonant and engaging exchange of dialogue in the play, Menon tells Helen:
“We will always be nation sliced apart
Haves and have nots, belongs and kind of belongs
Trojans and its half, this misguided venture of mine
I see it now fully.
Retreat, before so many my soldiers’ lifes lost
To which Helen replies:
“Troy far from perfect, and yet it is what we have/
Now let’s protect it, help it grow and shift to become more perfect
Despite all the expressed reluctance, the battles begin, starting with Memnon taking on the Greek warrior Antilochus (again Darrow) proclaiming “The time for talk is over” (a sentiment likely silently applauded by a solid contingent of the audience.) Antiochus is slain. This prompts Antilochus’s father Nestor (Perez again) to convince Achilles (hunky Jesse Corbin) to shed his reluctance — and his shirt — and engage in extended combat involving sword, shield, spear, and stage fog.
Memnon
Classical Theater of Harlem at Richard Rodgers Amphitheater through July 27
Running time: 80 minutes no intermission
Tickets: Free
Written by Will Power
Conceived by Will Power & Carl Cofield
Directed by Carl Cofield
Choreographed by Tiffany Rea-Fisher, fight direction by Emmanuel Brown
Scenic design by Riw Rakkulchon, costume design by Celeste Jennings, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, sound design and music by Frederick Kennedy, hair and makeup design by Samantha Weiner
Cast: Eric Berryman as Memnon, Andrea Patterson as Helen, Jesse Corbin as Achilles, Jesse J. Perez as Priam/Nestor, David Darrow as Polydamas/Antilochus
Jenna Kulacz as Assistant Choreographer/Ensemble, Madelyn Lalonde as Dance Captain/Ensemble
Alyssa Manginaro, Caitlyn Morgan, Erik Penrod Osterkil, Tiffany “2ts” Terry, Travon Williams,
Briana Marsiello, Cate Alston as Helen understudy, Israel Erron Ford as Memnon and Priam/Neestor understudy, Spencer Evett as Achilles and polydamas/antilochus understudy
Photos by Richard Termine
