J.A.S.O.N.

In the Greek tragedy "Medea," a jilted woman kills her children to get back at her husband for marrying another woman. The new production by the Office of War information, "J.A.S.O.N.," makes the Greek tragedy "Medea" into a cerebral experience rather than an emotional one. So, the audience is asked to concentrate on the script and rethink everything they originally assumed about Medea's story.

Pete Riesenberg's play is not so much an homage to Greek mythology as it is an angry, rock and roll proclamation to the state of the theatre. Rather than literature that Greek scholars sit in dusty libraries and pour over, this play is insane maenads tearing at "the establishment" in a garage band setting.

Making a living by selling the Huntington Theatre's subscriptions to mostly upper middle-class audiences, Riesenberg has earned the right to lash out. And his electric guitar-shaped bayonet cuts to bleed as his characters sever actual limbs.

Taking place in a dive bar in Cambridge, the players encourage audiences to celebrate Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, with them. With enthusiastic casting and direction by Hatem Adell, the show gleefully dissects both classical literature and the conventions of the mainstream commercial theatre.

The show, which made its debut October 4 at Club Bohemia (Cantab Lounge) in Cambridge and plays on Saturdays and Sundays through October 26, is a comic re-imagining of the Greek epic poem, "The Argonautica," (the story of Jason and the Argonauts) and Euripides' "Medea." The action follows a punk rock band, on their one-and-only tour, over the course of five months, July through November.

Nevertheless, theatre scholars who have a particular affinity for the year 431 BC will best appreciate the humor of this play. (Everyone knows what "Philoctetes" is right?)

Probably the original theatre critic, Aristotle, set down some rules for how to write a Tragedy and called this "The Poetics." Essentially, he told writers to keep focused. Give the story one plot line, focus on one main character and keep the play in one location over the course of one day. Centuries later the essentials of what Aristotle said remain good advice. But writers, of course, want to push the boundaries, and Riesenberg actively works to tear these rules into shreds. What is left of them becomes his play.

The first half of the play deals with the story of Jason and the Argonauts as told in Apollonius Rhodius' epic poem, "The Argonautica." But instead of focusing on the legend's main character, Jason, it focuses on the Argonaut Euphemus who, in a small part of the poem, receives a prophecy from Medea (played in the show by Liz Adams). Still, this minor character, our new hero, isn't just one character -- he's five characters -- and the action doesn't happen within any set space or time, it happens within the Euphemist mind. (Oh, and another thing, he moves backward in time while everyone else moves forward... or vice versa. Being quite familiar with the mythology, and doing more research on it afterward, I remain completely confused.)

The second half of the play is far more engaging because it is based on Euripides expertly crafted drama "Medea." But the tragic hero of Euripides, again Jason, never appears on stage and the most dramatic incident has been changed to strip it of all its dramatic power. (Rather than murdering her children, Medea aborts her twins early in the first trimester, making the event neither tragic nor funny.)

Tim Hoover is to the fringe theatre scene in Boston what Parker Posey was to independent film in the 1990s: omnipresent. He delivers, as always, a sincere performance as one of the factions of Euphemus and the Argonaut Orpheus, the band's lead singer. Hoover is the type of performer who enjoys what he does, and performs enthusiastically regardless of the content. His buoyancy and experience set the tone for this eager and energetic cast. Still, much of the humor doesn't land very well, not only because it's quite esoteric, but also because it isn't delivered with much pith as members of the cast have a tendency to stumble through their lines.

"J.A.S.O.N." runs through Oct. 26 at Club Bohemia (Cantab Lounge), 738 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. For tickets or information, call 617-354-2685 or visit www.officeofwarinformation.com