Summer Baer shrewdly uses her knowledge of Greek mythology in her intriguing, insightful new play, Scream, Echo. Scream. It is receiving its world premiere in an impressive, self-produced staging at the midtown office of Metro Theater Company.

The four characters in the play are nymphs: Peyto, Ozark, Socotra, and Echo. In the ancient Greek pantheon, nymphs are minor female deities who represent aspects of nature. Peyto is a lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Ozark is the man-made, serpentine Lake of the Ozarks. Socotra is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Echo represents caves.

Once a century, the nymphs meet to pay their respects to their departed sisters, who morph into stones at the end of their lives. These requiems take place at a very specific laurel tree—the one into which their sister nymph, Daphne, was transformed. Accepting this metamorphosis was the only way the solitude-loving Daphne could avoid the unwanted attention of the god Apollo, who had fallen in love with her. Coming to terms with the patriarchal underpinnings of this ancient story is a struggle for the nymphs.

Bagnell Dam, which created the Lake of the Ozarks, was completed in April 1931, so the last of the play’s five requiems takes place no earlier than the mid-24th century. This time scale allows the play to show the long-term effects of global warming on characters who personify nature. Recognizing the danger they are in, the nymphs ponder what might be left of them after their transformation into stones.

The themes of feminism, climate change, and mortality are woven together skillfully in Baer’s script. The nymphs are not simply mouthpieces for high-minded sentiments. They have distinctive personalities, and they express themselves with naturalness and passion.

The nymph who has the most difficulty expressing herself is Echo. She has been cursed and can only repeat what others say to her. Her repetition is not mechanical, however. She has some choice in how much of what she hears to repeat and how long she waits to repeat it.

The play is about the characters relationships over time rather than a single overarching action. Under Lize Lewy’s adroit direction, interactions ranging from contentious to harmonious are continually filled with life in excellent performances by Kristen Strom as Peyto, Frankie Ferrari as Ozark, Sarah Lantsberger as Socotra, and the playwright as Echo.

Baer is also responsible for the props, the classically influenced costumes, and the striking set. At its rear is a skeletal representation of Daphne’s laurel tree. In front of the tree is ample space for the evocative choreography by intimacy coordinator Kayla Lindsay and dramaturg Greta Johnson and for the fight choreography by Mo Moellering. Bryn McLaughlin composed the music and designed the sound. Technical director Zachary Grimm designed the projections, and Erin Riley designed the lighting.

Scream, Echo. Scream. continues through May 24 at 3311 Washington Avenue. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo by Monica Cox
From the left, Frankie Ferrari as Ozark, Kristen Strom as Peyto, Summer Baer as Echo, Sarah Lantsberger as Socotra in Scream, Echo. Scream.