For five weeks WP Theater will present its Pipeline Festival featuring five new plays which have been in development during a collaborative two year lab residency. The first effort this spring is Galatea or Whatever You Be. Why the Shakespearean title? This new play has been loosely adapted by MJ Kaufman from John Lily’s Elizabethan era Gallathea, written in 1585.
Remarkably still relevant, the subject matter concerns gender identification. Every five years, a small village sacrifices the prettiest virgin to the god Neptune to protect themselves from ocean flooding. (Also remarkably, climate issues figure into the plot.) Two fathers worry that their daughters are likely candidates for this ritual. Dressed as boys, they are sent to the woods until the sacrifice is over. The two fall in love not knowing that they are girls. Adding to the gender-bending merriment is the presence of Diana and her nymphs in the woods. Cupid and Neptune get involved as well. Back in the day, the boy actors playing girls who are pretending to be boys must have been quite the gag.
Galatea is a fun piece of work in its current form. There could be more laughs with such an over-the-top story. I would add that my first instinct leaving the theater is that this is prime material for a musical comedy. The dance of the nymphs, for example. Diana, nicely played by Eve Lindley, could definitely handle a show-stopping number, or three. Bailey Roper’s portrayal of one of the two young lovers was my favorite performance. Overall, a nice idea to adapt this great find. I’m still thinking about Neptune’s entrance music though.