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Staging details bog down wonderful performances

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From: The Gazette
Date: 19990611
Author:Mark Arnest

"The Birds," Smokebrush's adaptation of Aristophanes' comedy, is very, very variable - not just from scene to scene, but from line to line. Go see it for the many remarkable moments: visually rich, technically marvelous, colorfully acted, a hilarious melange of ancient Greece and modern Colorado. But expect to be bored now and then.

The play, when it's not just classical Greek silliness (and vulgarity - this is not a family show) concerns the search for Utopia. At the beginning, Pisthetairos (the name means "plausible") and Euelpides (which means "hopeful") are searching for a place to get ...

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