Overplaying Medea

Composer-Impresario Gian Carlo Menotti had never directed a straight play before, but this was one challenge he could not resist. It was the first Ital ian production of Jean Anouilh's Medea, with volcanic Film Actress Anna Magnani (Open City, The Rose Tattoo) in the title role. Menotti realized all along, though, that working with Magnani is "like working with fire. It might burn down the whole house if you let it go, but if you put water on it, the fire might go out. You must keep the fire burning without destroying the theater."

There was smoke right from the first reading. In Anouilh's updating of Euripides' tragedy, Medea is abandoned by her lover, Jason, who takes up with Glauce, daughter of King Creon of Corinth; in retribution, Medea kills her two children by Jason, and murders both Glauce and Creon. Magnani's view was that Medea had got the short end of the stick, that Jason was a no-good porco. Menotti did not quite see it that way. "Jason's story is like every Italian man's," he explained. "He is just a tired man who wants to get rid of his mistress and settle down."

Meanwhile, Osvaldo Ruggieri, who plays Jason, was having trouble with the pants designed for him by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. They were, he thought, too baggy. Whereupon he went out and got a pair so tight he was a sight. When Rouben tinted the pants dark brown, Ruggieri went into a rage. "You ruined them!" he cried. "You dyed them!" "I didn't dye them, I painted them!" huffed Rouben. "I'm a painter, not a dyer!" Moaned Director Menotti: "Why is it that an Englishman is always adjusting his tie, a Frenchman is always checking his pocket for his wallet, and Italians are always showing themselves off in tight pants?"

One way or another, all the disputes got settled in time for the opening last week. Magnani played Medea the way she saw it, chewing up a little scenery along the way. The critics were pretty dubious about it all. "Magnani is a popular personage whereas Medea is not," said II Tempo. She portrayed her role "more with her viscera than with her head."

Magnani, undaunted, beamed: "What do you think of the team of Menotti and Magnani on Broadway?" Well, maybe -- but for now, Menotti was looking for a little peace and quiet. Said he: "I'm going back home to my dog in Mount Kisco, New York."

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