Urban myth of 'Angels' shines

By Jamie Winkler

Daily Arts Writer

Ancient Greek tragedies prove timeless once again. The Detroit Repertory Theater's production of "The Angels of Lemnos" successfully quotes Greek mythology in a modern issue - homelessness. The balanced and tightly written script by Jim Henry takes its base directly from a Greek myth.

In the myth, Zeus throws Hephaistos from the heavens making him lame. A village on the Island of Lemnos nurses Hephaistos back to health before his return to heaven. Being in the company of such kind people makes him a forgiving soul, able to withstand the taunts of other gods who mock his lamed leg.

The company's modern version of this story follows Nathan Spandrel, an orphaned mentally handicapped post-teen, who relies on the kindness of a community of homeless people in downtown Detroit. Throughout the course of the two-hour tragicomedy, Spandrel reveals the hardships that led him to the streets and his desires to "float" back to heaven.

Bernard Owens, Jr. tackles the tough role of Nathan Spandrel. He definitely leaves his mark on the play, but seems to drift in and out of his part. The entire weight of the performance is on his shoulders and only Zeus himself could have succeeded at such a task. But Owens keeps the energy up and the audience involved.

The true light of "Angels" is Roy Dennison who plays Spandrel's confidant Girtie Colter, a homeless man who knows the streets and prides himself on his honesty with police. He is natural, believable and incredibly endearing. Girtie ties in the mythological themes by giving advice from a mythology book he has to remind him of his family. The scene where he describes the loss of his grandchildren is breathtaking. The lights dim to bathe him in an up-shooting red light. Cast members double as rhythmic instruments adding the beating heart to his woeful tale.

Girtie also confronts the stereotype of homelessness. He often tells Nathan "don't get that faraway look in your eyes, they'll think you're shooting up."

The curtain opens to a silent scene, which introduces the audience to the characters and the setting - a back alley vaguely resembling a family room. The cast of seven acts as lead characters, minor characters and background.

The characters slip in and out of scenes that flash back to Spandrel's childhood. He remembers his loving mother, his absent father, his first love, his first sexual experiences, and his life's nemesis: a fourth-grade teacher who abused him. His losses in life make him want to reunite with his mother in heaven, so he looks for a cold place to chill his body to death. An abandoned baby, who he plans to take to heaven with him, recalls his lost childhood where he was a "perfect being."

But the script is funny too. Who wouldn't laugh at an awkward first date, or a boy "discovering himself" thinking about Wilma Flintstone or measuring a run-over cat and calculating that in 45 days it would be flattened enough to cover the entire world? There is real humor in "The Angels of Lemnos," evident in lines such as, "The only thing a bum's got in common with a college professor - socks don't match."

In an interesting little theater in downtown Detroit, this show is not to be missed.