Must see

I saw this show Friay night, and you must hurry to see it before it closes its limited run.

Balinese kecak is a style of theater you will not often get a chance to see in this city, and Green T merges it almost seamlessly with the classic tale of the Trojan Women.

The show begins with a lovely, disembodied voice singing a dirge in the darkness. From this point on, clever use of vocal percussion, chanting and sounds transport us to another place. The chorus is not only the chorus, they function as set and sound effects as well. This show is filled with both physical and vocal acrobatics.

We first see Athena and Poseidon, each role played by 4 people in concert, discussing the Trojan situation. Long streamers were used to great effect with Poseidon.

Hecuba, played by Natalie Weiss, is heartbreaking. This is a younger Hecuba than we normally see, but given the acrobatics of the role it made sense. We next see Cassandra, played by July Vang. Here the chorus is used to great effect acting out her hallucinations. A similar treatment is used during Andromache's entrance (played by Heather Brady) though her scene is far more static. Between these scenes are long passages of choral chanting, punctuated with dialogue between Hecuba and Talthybius (Heidi Berg).

This is minor, but the only part that didn't quite work for me was the long-anticipated entrance of Helen. When Menelaus (played by David Schneider) comes to claim his wayward bride, for some reason 4 Helens appear. It may have been more effective for the "main" Helen, (the hypnotic blond one) to portray the role solo- as the scene played it felt like a bit of an afterthought. I also would have liked to see the various characters have a costume piece to differentiate them from the chorus when they stepped out.

Finally the army comes to take away the Trojans. The show builds to a satisfying conclusion, with an extended chanting and dance sequence. I encourage everyone to see this before it is too late!