"Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings," said King Richard II, describing a common group activity in the court, in summer camp, at saloons, in theaters everywhere and upon the Kranzberg Arts Center stage, where "The Death of Atahualpa" opened over the weekend. The Upstream Theater production will run through April 17.
Atahualpa, no less a king than Richard, Henry or Ferdinand, ruled the Incas in Peru in the16th century, but he stood in the way of Francisco Pizzarro and the invading Spaniards, who carried a sword in one hand and the Bible in the other, ransacking much of the New World in a search for gold, leaving Catholicism and disease in exchange.
Philip Boehm, the company's artistic director, working from the Quechua oral tradition, has created and produced the U.S. premiere of a 70-minute drama in song and dance, poetry and prose. There's a studied informality at the outset, with the cast hanging around the stage while three musicians provide background on guitar, pipes, percussion and occasional singing by Rafael Arriojas, Juan A. Castizo and Miguel Ticona. The three men, always charming, are an asset to the production.
The cast is solid, the production smooth though rather bare bones, with several players taking several roles. Dennis Lebby provides an introduction, some commentary and plays the Franciscan monk, Valverde, whose mission was to convince Atahualpa to convert to Catholicism. William Grivna is in the title role, and as long as he's being kingly, he does a little work as Ferdinand of Spain. R. Travis Estes is an adviser and seer to Atahualpa, Eric J. Conners is the invading Pizzaro, Bethany Barr is the royal princess and Amy Loui stands out as the Woman who Weaves.
She spends most of the play seated at a loom just offstage, occasionally crooning to a baby. But she also contributes a lengthy monologue on the tragedy that is occurring as Atahualpa is being murdered, and her deep-set eyes practically flash fire as she speaks.
The play provides little intrigue or tension. The action repeats a story we all know, about how Europeans ravaged the land and the people they conquered, using their so-called aim of converting "savages" to Christianity as an excuse and a salve to their own consciences. Boehm's technique is interesting, often fascinating and charming, but there's simply not enough of a story.
The Death of Atahualpa, an Upstream Theater production, will be at the Kranzberg Center for the Arts through April 17.
—Joe