A 'Current Nobody' With a Mythic Past

The lurid X-rated 1979 movie about the emperor portrayed Caligula (played by Malcolm McDowell) as a "sort of gleeful, mustache-twirling villain," Strain says. "For us in this production, it was very important to avoid that."

The British-born Strain, whose family moved to Northern Virginia when he was 12, says the first translation he read of Camus' play was dry and "heavy" and nearly doused his enthusiasm. Greig's version, used in a 2003 London production, has, to the actor's delight, "a lot more wit in it and a lot more flavor and insight."

Even so, "it's still an existential drama," Strain notes. "It's still an idea play . . . and I think Chris has found really creative ways to make certain scenes playable, because looking at them as a piece of text . . . was really daunting."

Henley says he chose an intensely theatrical approach -- classical Greek architecture, Asian makeup and costume touches, a soupcon of Piaf in the sound design, apparitions, silhouettes behind curtains -- for reasons both creative and economic. "When you do an epic play of this size with our resources," the director explains, such nonrealistic theatricality "solves a lot of problems. . . .

"It's always more fun to open a play up and allow all kinds of influences to interact with the story."

Follow Spots

¿ Halloween-themed events: Georgetown Theatre Company's take on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," "Spirits of the Dead" and "The Raven," Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace Church, 1041 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 703-915-1061 or e-mail tgtc@earthlink.net. And the Lobster Boy Revue presents a "freaky" vaudeville/burlesque "Halloween Spooktacular," Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m. at the Warehouse Theater, 1021 Seventh St. NW Call 202-462-6331. (This will be the swan song for impresario Lobster Boy, a.k.a. Lucas Zarwell; the crustacean is swimming on to other waters.)

¿ Ford's Theatre and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign (chaired by ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson) will announce a $40 million renovation and expansion plan Friday at 11 a.m. at a ceremony in front of the historic theater, 511 10th St. NW. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne will be among the speakers. A short play about the Lincoln assassination, "One Destiny," will follow.

¿ Natural Theatricals has canceled the rest of the run of its new musical "Will You Know It's Me?," which was to have been presented through Nov. 2 at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria. A company press release cites the firing of a "key actor" and the lack of an understudy. Refunds are being processed. Call 703-739-9338.