"Salome," show #929

Oscar Wilde’s Salome is a story that adapts the story of John the Baptist with message-and-moral-driven faithfulness, but set in more urgent, contemporary language. Princess Salome utilizes the power of allure and gift for discerning Herod’s weakness allows her to achieve a most dastardly, self-serving deed, and one that seems to not pay off how she had hoped. Summer Session-Plevney has helmed a sturdy, riveting production at Fresno City College's Theatre department by setting it in the context of Mad Max: Fury Road. This concept is incredibly astute and revealing of the characters’ desperation for hope, connection, and a love which transcends their current circumstances. 

Zelia Ankrum delivers a wonderfully balanced titular heroine, showing the whimsy of a princess who hasn’t known much struggle as compared to the rest of the company around her, while often giving a sly stare or knowing glare which discloses just how powerful she knows she can be when leveraging her influence. Ankrum’s poise and arc is well-calibrated in support of Session-Plevney’s wholly inventive direction, and is played opposite a top-tier performance in Jimmy Haynie’s Herod. The two go toe-to-toe in both dialogue and monologue. and at no point does one let up, until Herod’s submission to keeping his word–he’ll grant Salome anything she wishes, up to half his kingdom, if she’ll dance for him–and then the power balance shifts. Haynie’s balance bravado and vulnerable pleading are in complement of one another, giving a compelling, delicious juxtaposition between Herod’s erraticism and Salome’s determination.

Supporting highlight performances come from a scene-stealing, Bri Villanueva-Hardcastle, whose Herodias effectively delivers stinging insults to Herod and wise accommodations for her daughter's (Salome) behaviors and steadfastness in requesting Jokanaan’s head on a silver charger. Villanueva-Hardcastle’s chemistry opposite Haynie is palpable, engaging, and enriching to the story during their entire time on stage. Alexander Gonzalez is a passionate, emotionally-driven Jokanaan, handling bulks of rants and monologues with poetic touch and attention-to-meaning when his notable verses repeat later in the play. Robert Gilliam has a short but sincerely impactful track as the Young Syrian, being among the first to leave the world but whose absence is felt all show long.

Christina McCollam-Martinez and Johnny Cano’s scenic design is simply extraordinary, adapting the Fury Road aesthetic with the right amount of jungle gym-esque climbing apparatuses, platforms, and sand on the floor that immediately wraps the audience into a suspension of disbelief; it’s not just a great set, but an encapsulating world that's been created. McCollam-Martinez’s lighting design gives pop, mood, and plot-driving tension to the 80-minute production. The structure of Wilde’s script--where context is first established, followed by character development, then relieved by a slow-burn plot--is handled with care and intelligence by the entire technical design team, including Jeannie Galioto’s superb costume, hair, and makeup design. Galioto's work drives the character aspect, giving each member of the company their own persona that elevates every line and reaction they give. Lastly, Ronny Bounthapanya’s conservative sound design affects when it counts and gets out of the way when Wilde’s text does the work in contextualizing the plot, such as Herod’s hiccups in reality vs. imagining sounds and visions. Peter Pimentel’s props designs deserves its own shoutout, with weaponry, mugs, and various other aesthetic touches that the props give in fully fleshing out this world we’re in. 

With just this weekend of a run, you a limited time to catch the drama at Fresno City College, so let me encourage you to get your ticket now. This is a Salome you won’t want to miss!