The Serpent is a fabulous play on its own merit, and Poindexter's staging is nothing short of genius. This is a personal and moving encounter, with everlasting themes and motifs. With Poindexter and 17 high school students, we explore man's endless cycle of violence, both physical and psychic. From the creation of the world and expulsion from the garden, we flash forward to meet the human family in our own time, existing in a post-modern, interior landscape, still plagued by violence and confusion. The spectres of Nazism, the Kennedy and King assassinations, and Rodney King's infamous encounter with the LAPD are vividly brought to life. We also sneak a peek at the disorienting and often comic modern condition: our selfishness and need to fit in to something larger than ourselves, bouncing off each other at crazy angles. This is all executed with humor and terror, in equal doses.

Poindexter's gifts for composition are evident in this work. He utilizes his actors expertly, creating images of startling elegance alongside moments of terror that are straight out of Dante's Inferno. His skill at spectacle shines... using actors, light and sound, The Serpent sometimes borders on theatre of cruelty. His actors do well, alternating between intense emotions and simple human experience. There are obvious skill levels among the actors, which is to be expected in a cast of high school students, but everyone is competent. (Take it from someone who has felt the wrath of Alan when not able to hold an extremely difficult position: this basic level of competency is hard enough!) There are some real standouts in the cast, who are profoundly human, and extremely effective in their roles. The Figures in Black: Eric Foss, Emily Covington, Antnee Napoletano, and Danielle Pardue are our guides through this strange trip. They are all excellent, but Napoletano and Pardue standout in chilling relief. These are survivors... not of a popular TV show, but of some un-named apocalypse. They hiss and writhe, never letting us forget that we are also players in the drama that unfurls in front of us. Sydney Andrews is also excellent as Eve. She evokes, through action, the wonder and sublime curiosity that would lead any of us to eat that apple. She is particularly touching, when she reappears at the evenings end, after a crescendo of horror and noise, to remind us that - in a pure and newborn silence - "Suddenly. This moment. Here, now. I am here, and you. In this place, now we are together."

Beautiful.

Matt Cosper, May 23, 2002