The origin story

When asked about the path of the original production of Metamorphoses, creator Mary Zimmerman said, “One of the charming things about it is that this is a freaking school play that went to Broadway.”

Indeed, the first production of the epic play in a pool of water took place at Chicago’s Northwestern University in 1996, under the title Six Myths. Zimmerman chose myths that lean into the theme, or the substance itself, of water. She turned specifically to Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE), a Roman poet whose Metamorphoses, a 15- book mythological narrative written in meter, went on to become one of the most important sources of classical mythology. As a child, Zimmerman poured through her mother’s copy of Edith Hamilton’s book on mythology, which included many of Ovid’s stories.

Metamorphoses moved from the university setting to Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago in 1998. Berkeley Rep became the first regional theatre to host the Chicago show, elevating its visibility on a national level. The production played at Zellerbach Playhouse on UC Berkeley’s campus in 1999–2000 as Berkeley Rep only had one theatre at the time, and that space was taken. From Berkeley, the show moved to Seattle, Los Angeles, off Broadway in New York, and eventually Broadway in 2002. Zimmerman won the Tony Award that year for Best Direction of a Play, and the play itself won both the Drama Desk Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. Metamorphoses has since been performed countless times at professional theatres and universities across the country, as well as internationally, with various directors at the helm.

Zimmerman re-mounted her original production at Lookingglass in 2012, and took it to Arena Stage in DC shortly thereafter. Berkeley Rep’s revival is a co–production with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and will travel there next. Some of the original cast members from the first production grace Berkeley Rep’s stage today in the revival: keep an eye on Raymond Fox, Felicity Jones Latta, Louise Lamson, and Lisa Tejero as they recreate their roles. Zimmerman says, “Berkeley was the first regional theatre to produce the play after its premiere, which is why it’s a profound experience for me to return here.”