“Fly” was this year’s Performance Arts Showcase and featured several colliding realms of performance art ranging from dance and theater to puppet shows and live music.

“Fly” started by bombarding the audience with a shock and awe mix of dance and monologue, but ended as a nice jambalaya of mediums that went down with ease.

The many co-producers of this year’s Performance Arts Showcase, whose mission was to feature the idea of civic responsibility, didn’t want to become too preachy, so they included comedic segments like the second act’s puppet show. These segments lit up the overall theme but didn’t take away from any of the performance’s value.

“Fly” centered on events from the Greek play Orestia by Aeshylus. The play was set in the city of Argos, which lost its king then fell in to ruin. How does “Fly” fit into this play?

The Orestes Fly, named for the character of Orestes, a central character in the Greek tragedy, leads the audience through each scene of the performance.

The performance begins with another central character, Mr. Head Wound, preformed by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lecturer Marc Tasman. Mr. Head Wound talked about the current state of his American-ness while a UWM student, Steven Moses, danced around him, representing the Orestes Fly.

After his meeting with the Orestes Fly, Mr. Head Wound transforms into Zeus, and the main story begins.

The audience seemed to be in a state of awkwardness.

But by the end of the play, the audience settled down to enjoy the spectacle. The puppet show at the beginning of the second act really loosened the audience. By the end of the play, both the civil responsibility and a few laughs were had by all.

Sadly, “Fly” was performed at the Performing Arts Center one night only — the performance could have benefited from multiple showings.

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