Entering the fantastical world of The Green Bird

Visionary Design. Heightened Physicality. Epic, Ensemble Theatre.

This is what The Constellation Theatre Company brings to every performance and artistic decision.  That, and a lot of imagination, storybook-like sets and characters, and fun.  If you have never experienced one of these quirky productions, this would be the perfect time to do so, because Constellation Theatre has successfully embodied its mission and essence in its newest production, The Green Bird, playing at Source Theatre through June 4.

Beyond a commedia dell’arte fairytale, The Green Bird is a unique celebration of theatricality, buffoonery, spectacle, and transformation.  It exists somewhere between Cirque de Soleil, Shrek, Candide, and Shakespeare – utilizing theater in the round, philosophical humor, silly, disfiguring costumes, and conceptual dialogue.

The play is essentially about two philosophizing orphans – Renzo and Barbarina – who go on a very round-a-bout journey to discover who their real parents are. (Surprise! They are actually long lost children of King Tartaglia [brilliantly played by John-Michael MacDonald] and his presumably dead wife, Ninetta [played by Katy Carkuff].)  During this journey, they must confront different forms of greed, selfishness, arrogance and even death.  Along the way, they meet magicians, philosophers, sausage-makers, malicious queens, poets, lovesick kings, princesses buried alive, talking “deus ex machina” statues, singing apple trees, dancing waters, and, of course, a green bird who was once a king (before being transformed by an ogre)!

The characters are straight out of storybooks, with rosy cheeks, prosthetic noses, clothes patches, architecturally whimsical coats, and mismatched socks.

What enhances this production even more – if the clowning, raucous humor and the crazy costumes weren’t enough – is the experience of theater in the round and the live music by master percussionist and Helen Hayes Award Recipient, Tom Teasley, who performs each night.  His looping sounds give the world of The Green Bird massive dimension. In many ways, his tone-setting is its own character that places the audience inside the animation of the play.

The Green Bird is also a tale of morality. For instance, we learn that the many stone statues the characters come across were once humans. As Calmon (played magnanimously by Misty Demory) and Pompea (played by Gwen Grastorf) explain to us, they were turned into statues because they didn’t believe in love, they lacked self-love and they pursued the endlessness of vanity.  And aren’t these things that give us hearts of stone in real life?

Also, much of the moral story of the play revolves around the dangers of striving for philosophy and reason, as well as the failures of striving for material wealth.  Many of the characters seem to teeter between these two extremes, especially the twins Renzo and Barbarina. They are so extraordinarily malleable in their perceptions that they debate the philosophical wealth of reason versus the greedy wealth of worldly goods.  In a gritty, childish way, they warn us of the limitlessness of greed and the lack of satisfaction that comes with it.

With each moral anecdote comes an even crazier punchline. One makes you chuckle: “It’s as easy to find true friendship as it is to wipe your ass on a rose.” Another gives you words to live by: “Foolishness is the best philosophy of all.”

Magic, morality, and comedy – that’s what to expect at The Green Bird, genuinely executed by Constellation Theatre Company. The physicality and commitment of the cast – especially John-Michael MacDonald as King Tartaglia, Matthew R. Wilson as the round, PG-13 Truffaldino, and Rex Daugherty as the fluttery Green Bird – are worth the experience.

Constellation Theatre Company’s production of The Green Bird by Carlo Gozzi performs through June 4 at the Source, located at 1835 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Closest Metro stop: U Street/Cardozo (Yellow/Green lines). For more information call 202.204.7741. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Extra performances are this Saturday, May 28 at 2pm; Monday, May 30 at 8pm; and next Saturday, June 4 at 2pm.

Tickets are $20 - $30 and can be purchased online. To buy tickets over the phone, cll 1-800-494-TIXS.