Review: It’s AI through the Greeks as one woman reclaims her voice in Ten Thousand Things’ ‘Helen’

Generative AI, my foot.

If you want to know about the potential havoc from deepfakes, check out the Greek gods. Over 2,000 years ago, they were all the talk for creating spirit doubles in “Helen,” the Euripides play that offers an alternative version of the story about the legendary beauty whose kidnapping or elopement leads to the Trojan War.

In Euripides’ retelling, the person being blamed for causing a world of woe is a holographic phantom formed by the gods from clouds. The real Helen is in exile in Egypt, hiding in a tomb because the new king has the hots for her.

“Helen” is getting a delectable and fun production by Ten Thousand Things Theater, a company known for its unadorned distillation of theatrical works. Adapted by John Barton and Kenneth Cavander, the one-act is staged with vitality, muscle and wit by Marcela Lorca. The show, Lorca’s last as artistic director of the company, also boasts soulful and moving choral compositions by J.D. Steele.

“Helen” takes an old story and reveals its manifold contemporary relevance. It meditates on the nature of truth, implicitly asking whether the things built on falsehoods must be perpetuated for their own sake.

As a soldier played by John Jamison II asks poignantly at the end of the drama, if the gods created a spirit double that has now returned to the clouds, was all the carnage for naught? And if a war starts based on a lie, must others die to honor the blood that’s already been spilled?

“Helen” also essays storytelling and fame, and the ways that those constructs function to advance a cause even if they trap the famous in their own gilded prisons.

Winking, emoting and calling us into her hopes, George Keller gives us a Helen who is a fully embodied contemporary woman. She knows the burden of being beautiful and desired but also has the strength to be disciplined in ways ordinary people can only appreciate. Her Helen might even be akin to a (non-singing) pop star like Dua Lipa or Beyoncé (the show’s “Single Ladies” dance quote is one of its fun touches).

Keller’s Helen appeals directly to us, and that realness and sincerity not only make her highly relatable. We also cheer for her as she stands in the tomb and warm to her as she becomes flushed on seeing her husband, Menelaus (Bill McCallum), for the first time in 17 years.

When the couple reunite in a hostile Egypt and plot their escape, Keller’s performance makes it easy to become co-conspirators.

McCallum, who also strums guitar in the show, is commanding as the stalwart husband. He enters boldly and with a soliloquy that he delivers in swell fashion. His Menelaus is clear about his convictions but unbothered or unaware of his many ironies.

Jamison sings a beautiful, spirited prayer for Menelaus. The cast of supporting gems include Lynnea Doublette, who shows a lot more than the whites of her eyes as high priestess Theonoe. But that touch speaks to the range of her theatrical inventiveness.

The music in “Helen” includes some comic touches. Bradley Greenwald quite literally blows some of his fellow players away with his baritone horn as King Theoclymenus, who provides his own herald.

“Helen” also has some small but notable turns by Dominic Schiro as warrior prince Teukros and keyboard player Isabella Dawis as Aphrodite’s attendant Eucleia.

There are other famous stories of body doubles in the world, including the time actor/painter Allen Midgette posed as his artist friend Andy Warhol. Some old hip-hop heads also may still be litigating who’s the real Roxanne.

This “Helen” shows that such searches can be revelatory and thrilling, even with cautionary notes from the deep past.

When & where: Numerous performances at such venues as the Capri Theater, Open Book and Hennepin United Methodist Church through Nov. 10.

Tickets: $40 or pay-as-you-can, starting at $15. 612-203-9502, tenthousandthings.org.