‘Half-God’: When worlds collide, but don’t connect

By Rich Fahey

CAMBRIDGE – Mash up mythology – both Greek and Nigerian — and the Marvel universe of super-heroes such as “Black Panther.”

In the process, have the mythic Greek god Zeus portrayed for what he really is.  Throw in a dash of NBA super-stardom and do it all in the form of a lyric poem turned stage play and you have “The Half-God of Rainfall,” a co-presentation of the American Repertory Theater and the New York Theatre Workshop.

Playwright/poet Inua Ellams, whose piece “Barber Shop Chronicles”  was successfully presented by ART in 2018, this time has turned his epic poem into a stage play that mashes up the worlds of Greek gods and Yoruba spirits with the world of NBA basketball.

In this portrayal, Zeus (Michael Laurence) makes an unholy bet on the result of a confrontation with a Nigerian warrior and feels entitled to brutally rape the Nigerian high priestess Modúpé (Jennifer Mogbock).

They have a son named Demi (Mister Fitzgerald), a half-god, half-mortal Nigerian boy growing up in an impoverished village, scorned by the neighborhood kids. He grows into his powers – his tears can actually cause floods — and eventually emerges as an NBA superstar and Olympian, earning a meeting with Nigerian-American legend Hakeem Olajuwon.

Alas, all of this attention will put him in the crosshairs of his famously violent father.

In an interview, Ellams said the original idea was to make Demi – a character he admits to being an avatar for himself — the central hero, but after reading the play to some female friends and doing more research about Zeus, he became convinced that Zeus was a sexual predator.

He then decided the real story was a single mother (Modúpé) going to great lengths to protect a child from an abusive father. And that will eventually trigger a confrontation for the ages at the apex of the piece, as Zeus, the thunder-making terrible titan of Mount Olympus, is comforted by mothers, daughters, and goddesses – including his wife Hera (Kelley Curran) — who rise up against him.  

The Yoruba spirituality of Western Africa is represented in the piece by the Òrìṣà (or “Orisha”), characters who represent personified natural forces and deified ancestors, in addition to sacred objects and spaces.

The structure of the show is enhanced by narration provided by two Yoruba deities — Elegba (Russell G. Jones), described a benevolent trickster and messenger between heaven and earth, and Osún (Patrice Johnson Chevannes), the river goddess of love and fertility. They will offer informed commentary on the hierarchy and violence of Greek mythology and the destruction of African traditions and spirituality by colonial oppressors.

Jason Bowen is Ṣàngó (or Shango), a warrior Òrìṣà linked to fire and lightning, represented by his oṣè—a double-headed battle-axe that he wields to great effect.

Director Taibi Magar has found an artistic home at the ART; this is her fourth production in the past five years. She previously directed “We Live in Cairo” (2019), “Macbeth In Stride” (2021), co-directed with Tyler Dobrowsky;  and “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” (2022.) They have all centered on questions of justice, which Magar in program notes connected directly to the foundations of storytelling.

Magar, in interviews and program notes, also praised Ellams’ use of poetic language and his mixture of mythic characters with modern mortals as Shakespearean in nature. “To me, it does all of the things that Shakespeare is doing.” She also praised the way Ellams’ work mirrors Marvel movies like the “Spider-Verse” and “Black Panther.”

Magar has assembled a skilled set of designers to bring Ellams’ vision to life. Costume designer Linda Chao’s colorful creations perfectly fit the two disparate worlds – the gods of Greek mythology and the Òrìṣà of Western Africa.

Tal Yarden’s projection design allows us to move quickly and effortlessly from Mount Olympus to the Oracle Arena in San Francisco, and all points in between.

Sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman delivers thunderbolts from Zeus and cheers from an NBA crowd and Stacey Desrosier’s lighting often takes center stage in the more dramatic moments, often invoking the mysticism Magar is seeking.

Because Ellams’ imagination takes us in so many different directions, “Half-God” can be hard to follow. The digital program includes a full glossary of characters portrayed and their background as a Greek god or Yoruba spirit. Downloading the digital program and reading it before the play will help you navigate both worlds.

This play debuted at the New York Theatre Workshop last summer. Ellams at first envisioned the piece as a one-person show, then presented it with two actors in London in 2019 before revising it for a seven-person cast.

The difficulty of bringing poetry to the stage is such that at several points during the 90-minute production, the play feels unfinished and a bit disjointed.

When worlds collide, they don’t always connect. And when that happens, even Zeus’s sound and fury may go for naught.

“The Half-God of Rainfall.” Presented by the American Repertory Theater, in a co-production with New York Theatre Workshop. At Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge. Through Sept. 24. Tickets from $35. 617-547-8300, AmericanRepertoryTheater.org