Mary Hall Surface and David Maddox go together like ice cream and cake. Although they often work on separate projects, their family musicals are gems that delight children and adults alike. Just in time to warm hearts during the chilly winter, their “Perseus Bayou” returns to town for a five-weekend run at Imagination Stage. Surface will direct the show that was nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards in 2002. It also received a Parents’ Choice Award for its Cajun musical interpretation of the Greek tale.
Surface and Maddox have turned the Greek hero Perseus and Andromeda, the princess he married, into Percy, a hero born to set things right, and Andy, a tomboy. The setting is a Southern swampland soon after the Civil War where they encounter the gods Athena and Hermes transformed into an African conjure woman and a spirit cat.
“Mary and I first look at a myth to determine if it’s translatable,” Maddox said. “By placing the plot in that time period, we were able to craft a story around a world ruined by war and greed. Percy’s grandfather was a greedy, postwar profiteer. The world is in trouble and needs a hero to correct things that are wrong. Percy sets off on his journey to repair the damage of the Civil War violence. Along the way, Andy falls in love with him and teaches him something about life.”
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘Perseus Bayou’ |
| » Where: Imagination Stage, Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre |
| » When:Saturday to March 13 |
| » Info: $10 to $22; 301-280-1660 |
Maddox plays many instruments and composes in a variety of styles. He has created scores and sound designs for numerous productions around the country, including Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center and Signature Theatre, where he won a Helen Hayes Award.
Surface began writing plays for young people to compensate for the lack of suitable ones. Her first collaboration with the Kennedy Center began in 1983. She and Maddox first collaborated in 1995 on “The Nightingale,” a Kennedy Center production. He had written the music for “Snow Queen” and, when it went on tour the next year, Surface came in to remount it. That partnership led to six more musicals.
Because both Surface and Maddox are natives of the South, she from Kentucky and he from North Carolina, they are especially comfortable working with a Southern background. It was their choice for three other musicals, “Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales,” “Mississippi Pinocchio” and “Perfume River: A Swamp Water Love Story.”
“Mary and I hope our audiences have a good time,” Maddox said. “Theater is all about entertainment and this show is both exciting and moving. We love all our musicals, but ‘Perseus Bayou’ is our favorite as a whole piece. After all, you can’t beat a sword fight.”
