Tuesday preview. Someone left an extra ticket at the box office, which they gave it to me :)
Ithaka is a new play about returned soldiers. Commissioned for Artists Repertory Theatre by local philanthropist Stephanie Fowler and Irving Levin.Captain Elaine has just returned from her latest tour in Afghanistan. Home doesn’t feel right and everyone seems be doing/talking about stupid things. A fight with her caring husband propels her to skip town to undertake an Odyssean journey with her demons and trying to find her way home.
Good acting (especially the cat, by Valerie Stevens), simple and efficient props/stage. 90 minutes without intermission. A bit too short to dive deep. Portland playwright Andrea Stolowitz based her matierial on personal interviews. She did a good job dramatize and illustrate in a concise and clear arrangement. The play doesn't offer any solution as to how to deal with post dramatic syndrome, nor asking any questions beyond surface.
