HOLLAND, Mich.–It’s a risky business for a summer stock theater to do something as heavy as a Greek tragedy.

The audiences that Hope Summer Repertory draws from are often vacationers and tourists who are looking for something light and entertaining. And they can certainly get that from most of HSRT’s 2016 season–Hairspray, The Fantasticks, and Sonia, Vanya, Masha and Spike.

But then the artistic team went out on a limb. They opened up Oedipus this week and gave it all the due and gravitas that one would expect from a Greek tragedy.

The show, directed by David Colacci, mixes a traditional and modern approach. In its setting, it is purely traditional. The words resonate with elevated language and classical delivery. Jodi Ozimek’s costuming firmly sets it in ancient Thebes. The 12-member chorus fills the stage, never leaving it, acting both as audience and actor.

But there are modern elements to this production too, most particularly in Jeffrey Levin’s sound design. There is a constant sound track to the drama, often making it eerie and profound. Echoes and amplifications add depth to the chorus, adding layers to their mourning, music to their spoken songs and an intensity and urgency to all that they speak.

Colacci’s direction is ever-present in this show. He choreographs the chorus so that their every motion contributes to the telling of the story and the establishing of a mood. They circle, chant, pull back and listen. They are the ones who, through movement and voice, elevate Oedipus, praise him, challenge him, and ultimately witness his demise. The named characters circle and pace, posing at critical moments and moving in a lyrical fashion. The show’s energy is tightly planned, rising and falling in a well-conducted symphony.

Bryce Michael Wood plays the titular character and is at his best as the beloved leader who cares for and loves his people. He brings a dignity and gravitas to the role, moving with power and grace. His voice is strong, and he delivers his lines with classical flair.

However, the role makes demands that seriously challenge the actor. One of Oedipus’ fatal flaws is his rage—that he falls victim to his anger and acts rashly in ways that ultimately condemn and doom him. Wood is always in control, always portraying the dignity and never the loss of it. His voice raises, but there is not the texture of anger in it. Nor does his body communicate rage—his hands and body stay relaxed, only the text giving away that he is enraged.

William Hulings creates an entirely sympathetic Creon, one who first openly shows his support and devotion to Oedipus and then is genuinely put upon when his king and brother-in-law turn on him in unjustified suspicion. His choices contribute to the narrative of a noble king who is prone to acting rashly.

Making a late appearance in the play is Jocasta, played by Kathleen Mary Mulligan, who appears to intervene between her brother and husband. She carries herself with the dignity of a mature queen, one who has many years on Oedipus but is devoted to him and to her city. She relates her fatal story with genuine emotion, creating an ever-building tension leading up to the ultimate climax. Mulligan’s doomed queen commands the stage both with what she says and what she leaves unspoken—the tragedy that hangs in the air for the audience to connect even while Oedipus is oblivious.

Serena Vesper is the spookily “other” Tiresias, a prophet and a mouthpiece of the gods. She plays the prophet’s reluctance to speak well, doing so with moves that were always deliberate and exaggerated. She carried herself distinctly, working with her otherworldly makeup and costuming to set her apart from the citizens of Thebes and its rulers. The choice of the artistic staff to create an amplified echo of her voice contributed to her other-worldliness, but sometimes made it difficult to understand her words. It required a great deal of concentration to translate her words and even then it was sometimes lost.

While the show is heavy fare for a summer stock theater, it is also a very fitting undertaking for a theater that has the acting and academic resources of HRST. They are able to give great depth to the show, performing it in a powerful fashion. The show is fraught with emotion, visual appeal and aural sensations. Colacci and his cast and crew do justice to Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of Sophocles’ award-winning masterpiece. They bring it to life in a stunning manner with an ever-building tension that is heart-breaking in its final reveal.

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