Onstage there was nothing even close to the level of excellence on display at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, in playwright/director Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of The Odyssey by Homer. Even Zimmerman's remarkable Metamorphoses, seen at Intiman last year, scarcely prepared one for the richness, humor and visual dazzlement that Zimmerman, an exemplary cast, and her technical team brought to the plate in this co-production with the McCarter Theatre, where it originated. In such an ensemble-driven piece, it is tough to single out individual actors, but certainly Mariann Mayberry's butch and bawdy Athena, Paul Oakely Stovall's imperious Poseidon, Felicity Jones' heartfelt Penelope, and Christopher Donahue's warmly human and humorous Odysseus deserve special mention.

Mara Blumenfeld's wonderfully out-of-period costumes included some saucy red outfits for the Sirens, depicted in Zimmerman's vision as a cross section of female stereotypes--nurse, secretary, Girl Scout, etc.--luring seafarers to their doom with ego-stroking, male-flattering babble. Daniel Ostling's scenic design was handsome, inventive and never too busy for its own good, and benefited from T.J. Gercken's splendid lighting. A three-and-one-half-hour show that felt as if it were only half an hour, The Odyssey was everything one could ask for of a Seattle theatre, excepting the fact that nary a Seattle actor was to be seen onstage.

Next door at Intiman Theatre's Measure for Measure a lot of fine Seattle talent was hard a work, perhaps a little too hard at work, trying to enliven Shakespeare's problem play, problematically directed by Libby Appel. Her conceit of having each actor, save Laurence Ballard's Duke of Vienna, play multiple roles that are very opposing in nature worked well, but the slogging pace and bleak tone of her much-revised adaptation of Shakespeare's text made for a long evening.

The redoubtable Ballard worked his effortless magic, as did David Scully, who carried most of the production's comedic moments easily on his lithe shoulders as Lucio, Friar Peter, and Barnardine. The skillful Timothy Piggee seemed ill at ease as a particularly violent Angelo but twinkled in his comedic turn as an executioner. Julyan Soelistyo, as Elbow and others made a welcome return to Seattle following her Golden Child Tony Award nomination on Broadway, though the roles scarcely scratched the depths of her talent. Amy Thone, Susan Appel, and Jos Viramontes rounded out the ensemble in solid but not incendiary performances. One other element that made this Measure for Measure come up short was William Bloodgood's dark and dingy contemporary urban ghetto set design, which grew harder to look at as the evening wore on.

Julie Harris, luminous as ever, brought her touring The Belle of Amherst to A Contemporary Theatre (the show recently closed at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach). As many years as Harris has been linked with William Luce's slight yet sublimely engaging play about Emily Dickinson, one might expect her to be phoning in her performance a bit, but that would be underestimating this deservedly Tony Award-winning star performer. Whether cajoling a chuckle out of her audience while sharing a cake recipe or coaxing out a tear while relating some of Dickinson's disappointment at her lack of recognition in life as a writer, Harris gives the appearance of tackling the material for the first time, coupled with the assurance that comes with utter familiarity with her text and character.

Little To Sing Anout

ReAct Theatre, an enterprising fringe company that specializes in non-traditional casting, offered two musicals in the space of a month, and the subject matter was as varied as the end result. ReAct's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, though not the retooled Broadway revival text, managed to be pretty perky and charming, thanks to zesty and inventive direction and choreography by Scot Charles Anderson, and some particularly well-cast actors who made something fresh of the familiar Peanuts characters.

Amy Joe Diebold was a Sally Brown to savor, with a rubber faced comedic flair that should carry her far. Neck-to-neck with her was Eric Starker's Linus, drll and delicious, recalling a young Joel Grey, while Joseph Stephen Yang made a blissfully blockheaded Charlie Brown, and Jeannette LeGault did well by the football-swiping force of nature called Lucy. Oddly, the only jarring note was the show's Snoopy, Christopher Zinovitch, anxious to please but pushing too hard in a role that requires easy self-confidence.

The second ReAct musical a few weeks later was Miss Minidoka, 1943, a questionable attempt to treat a heavy subject--life in a Japanese internment camp in WWII Idaho--lightly. Seattle playwright Gary Iwamoto created caricatures rather than characters, and most of director Kathy Hsieh's cast failed to transcend the thin script and mostly third-rate songs. Only Leilani Wollam, vibrant and throaty-voiced as the girl who is determined to mount a beauty contest in the camo, and Katie Tupper, touching and vocally assured as Chieko, rose above the mediocrity around them.

A bit better, but still off the mark, was Eastside Musical Theatre's West Side Story. Director Bryce Britton has an age-appropriate but emotionally undernourished cast to work with, and choreographer Art Anderson couldn't turn the trick of making believable street toughs out of game but giddy chorus boys, especially his Jets. Charlene Parker was an impassioned and vocally rich Anita, and Kristy Villareale a bolder and harsher Maria with the prerequisite dulcet vocal tones to handle the Bernstein score. But overall, this was a real letdown from a company and director who turned out a splendid Into the Woods a year or so ago.

Cash cow that is always is though, West Side Story drew sizeable crowds on the Eastside in Bellevue; but in Seattle proper, attendance was down across the board, Maybe it was the lack of any really big word-of-mouth hits, or just toom much competition for the entertainment dollar, but virtually every theatre was hurting, even the houses that thrive on subscription ticket sales.

Remembrances

During the last few weeks, the Seattle arts community was hit hard by the loss of two actors, both of whom had many friends in, and made notable contributions to, our theatre scene. Anthony Dwain Lee, 39, was killed in a shooting incident Oct. 28 in Los Angeles. He was remembered as a memorial service Nov. 6 at Intiman Theatre. The 6'4" velvet-voiced actor gave many superb performances in Seattle, notably his Walter Lee Younger in the Group's A Raisin in the Sun; Mr. Rose in The Cider House Rules and Sweet Back in Spunk, both at Seattle Rep; and as Othello for the Seattle Shakespeare Festival.

Kevin Hadley, age 36, died on Nov. 6. His corageous and for many years successful fight against a brain tumor was movingly and humorously documented in his tremendous autobiographical play Healing, performed at the Annex Theatre. As an actor, Hadley performed with the Bathhouse Theatre, the 5th Avenue Theatre, Showtunes! Theatre, and the Seattle Children's Theatre, and was a beloved member of the Washingtonians choral group. He aslo served for many years as Seattle's Actor's Equity liaison. Kevin is survived by his life partner, director Victor Pappas. A memorial service will be held on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Seattle Children's Theatre at the Seattle Center. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to the UW Medical Center.