‘Olympus on My Mind’

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents this modern take on the Greek legend of Amphitryon.

By: Stuart Duncan

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Gary Lynch (left) and Christopher Kale Jones appear in the Bristol Riverside Theatre production of Olympus on My Mind.


   Olympus on My Mind, currently at Bristol Riverside Theatre, is a one-joke musical, but when the one joke is as perky and talented as Bethe B. Austin, the evening can be good fun. What book writer/lyricist Barry Harman has done is to take the age-old Greek legend of Amphitryon, toss it into the air to dust off the cobwebs of the centuries, ask composer Grant Sturiale to add a bunch of bounce, but not very memorable tunes, and sit back and wait for the laughs.
   And whenever the laughs seem a bit slow in coming, the pair trot out Ms. Austin. She is shoe-horned into the plot as the new girlfriend of Murray The Furrier, the new backer of the show, using the profits from his shop of 40 years on Avenue J in Brooklyn. Naturally, to celebrate the three-month anniversary of their relationship, he has insisted she be part of the proceedings, wearing one of his minks (and not terribly much else).
   Now for the Greek myth: The God Jupiter comes down to earth, lusting after Alcmene, Amphitryon’s wife. After all, he is off warrioring at the wars and he can easily impersonate him. Alcmene seems to welcome the idea after missing him so long and apparently so much. Besides she can’t tell the difference. Both Amphitryons come with side-kicks (Jupiter brings along Mercury; the true warrior has a guy called Sosia). He has a wife too, so there is another wife to be deceived. With all these mistaken identities, we have tunes such as: "Love — What a Concept," "Back So Soon?," I Know My Wife," "Jupiter Slept Here" and the very pretty "Heaven on Earth." Not just double identities, but double entendres as well.
   A good cast has a ball with the sometimes flimsy material. Gary Lynch as Jupiter and George Spelvin as Amphitryon sing lustily and mightily, then watch as the scenes are stolen by their side-kicks — Christopher Kale Jones as Mercury, with a gorgeous voice, and BRT favorite Kenneth Boys as Sosia, who gets most of the evening’s laughs and deserves them. SuEllen Estey is a lovely Alcmene, and a chorus of Bill Bartus, Michael Susko and Ernest Williams Jr. leap in from time to time, presumably to do what Greek choruses do — explain the plot when it gets muddied.
   But ultimately it is Ms. Austin bringing down the house. She played the role in the original New York production and when she does her "star turn" in Act II, director Edward Keith Baker, who also conducts the orchestra from the keyboard, pulls out all the stops, and the opening-night audience roared its approval. One joke perhaps, but it works.
   Incidental knowledge: the word Amphitryon translates to mean "he who provides the feast" (think in terms of "master of the house"). The legend has been used by many playwrights over the years, including Plautus, Moliere and Dryden. In 1937 the French playwright Jean Giraudoux wrote Amphitryon 38, apparently because he had discovered 37 previous works on the subject. That show reached Broadway.
Olympus on My Mind continues at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol, Pa., through May 22. Performances: Wed., Sat. 2, 8 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m. Tickets cost $34-$42, $15 students. For information, call (215) 785-0100. On the Web: www.brtstage.org