‘An Iliad’ puts modern spin on Homer’s tale of war

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

 “An Iliad,” a sprawling monologue about the Trojan War and two fierce fighters — Achilles of Greece and Hector of Troy — is alternately performed by two fine actors — Denis O’Hare of “Take Me Out” and Stephen Spinella of “Angels in America.”

The dual-actor setup and the theme of war, which, naturally, is about one side crushing the other, begs the question: Who’s better at telling this tale drawn from Homer’s ancient epic poem?

Working from the Robert Fables translation, O’Hare wrote the 100-minute work with director Lisa Peterson, so he knows it inside out. Both actors impress as the shabby poet who has reluctantly chronicled war so long he’s worn down from it.

But Spinella’s approach is superior — clearer, cleaner and more grounded. It’s no fluke that he acts barefoot; the more eccentric O’Hare wears boots. Spinella makes “An Iliad” all about a story, not him. It’s all the more vivid because of that.

Each gets strong support by bassist Brian Ellingsen, who’s situated on a walkway above the nearly empty stage. The music composed by Mark Bennett is as urgent and haunting as the story itself.

That tale is cautionary one, with departures that purposefully reach to present day — the poet recalls warships filled with young men, many of whom will die, and refers to “boys from Ohio. Palo Alto. Miami.”

We get it.

Some parallels to the war in Iraq hit their mark — at times too directly as it drives home the point about men’s never-ending devotion to conflict. “Why fight?” the poets asks. “It’s always something.”

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