There are few things as disappointing as a bad adaptation of a familiar tale — a slew of contemporary takes on Little Red Riding Hood spring to mind. Conversely, a thoughtful retelling — say John Gardner's interpretation of Beowulf from the monster's perspective, or Euripides' nuanced portrayal of Medea — can resonate as deeply as any original script. Certainly that is the hope behind "In Plain Sight: Stories You Never Knew You Knew." This anthology of six short plays includes two takes on Cinderella — the stark Pankhadi and the Prince and whimsical Palace Watch— as well as Mississippi Medea, in which our betrayed murderess appears on a daytime talk show, and My Name is Mother, based on Medea's Hispanic counterpart La Llorona (The Weeping Woman). The program concludes with When Briseis Met Chryseis, which has Paris's cousin falling for Chryseis' daughter, instead of that poochy-lipped Achilles from 2004's Troy; and After the Prologue, which finally shows the Wife of Bath educated that rapist knight from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
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