November 16, 2006 Editorial Observer Oedipus Max: Four Nights of Anguish and Applause in Sing Sing By LAWRENCE DOWNES OSSINING, N.Y.
To enter a maximum-security prison to see inmates put on a Greek tragedy in this case "Oedipus Rex" at Sing Sing is to descend into an echo chamber of ironies. An ancient story of murder and banishment brought to life by banished murderers. Imaginary horrors summoned in solid flesh by men whose own stories are horrifying and real. It's a lot to ponder as you hand over wallet, keys, watch and train schedule at the prison entrance. As for your illusions and misperceptions about inmates and prison life those you surrender inside. I went to Sing Sing with the play's director, Sister Joanna Chan of the Maryknoll order, whose headquarters is not far from the Hudson River bluffs on which Sing Sing has hunkered since the 1820s. Sister Joanna, who is petite, Chinese and in her 60s, had been working with the inmates since June, and Friday's performance was the last in a four-night run. The cast and crew, serving time for murder, rape, robbery, assault and other crimes, called her Grandma. We walked through long, low corridors to the auditorium, called the Chapel, with a high ceiling of exposed steel beams and the grimy yellow light of bare bulbs. Nuns and other visitors from town nibbled cheese cubes and drank coffee from paper cups. A few mingled with inmates, easy to pick out not by their air of menace but by their green pants. There were jitters in the room, not in the audience but in the cast and crew the bustling nerves of any amateur production. Previous nights had gone well, I was told. The play had even won over B-block, a brutal crowd. Tonight's show was for guests, and the final chance to shine. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/opinion/16thur4.html
