If you’re not familiar with the 1987 cautionary tale of Fatal Attraction starring Michael Douglas, Anne Archer, and a sexed-up Glenn Close, then you’re in luck. A much better version of the film is being performed live by the sick kitties at Stray Cat Theatre. Alana McNair and Kate Wilkinson’s Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy puts it into the context it was always straining to be. Those who are familiar with the film should agree that it never wanted to be anything as mundane as an erotic thriller. There is a sense that in another era, this would have aspired to be a work by Sophocles. McNair and Wilkinson have understood this aspiration, and have given us a script worthy of Aristophanes.

Director Amanda Monrad’s choices adhere to the classic forms backed by a traditional chorus of four (Johanna Carlisle, Scott C. Jeffers, Brian Klein, and Nessa Hawkins, all amazing in their multi-faceted performances from extras to props). She has her key players (Christopher Mascarelli as Michael Douglas—no character names here—Alicia Sutton as Anne Archer, Cynthia Rena as Glenn Close, and the perfectly cast Sam Wilkes as six year old Ellen Hamilton Latzen, the young daughter with the penchant for bunnies) present their characters in the best oratorical style. Watching this show is like sitting through a class on Theatre History, but in a good way. She’s got it all right, and she makes it hilarious in the process.

The strongest of the three leads is Rena. She channels Glenn Close’s nuttiness like a mystic. Her smoky voice, her gruff ways, and her crazed eyes are always entertaining and strangely endearing. Mascarelli is wonderful as the hubris-tainted king of the castle, using a halting vocal pattern and rigid physicality to devastating effect. Sutton’s simpering Archer is so straight-laced and straight-faced that it’s painfully funny. However, as Archer’s matronly instinct kicks in, sweetness fades into ferocity, and Sutton shines. Wilkes is making a career with odd characters, and he is his usual creepy-cute in this role.

Each member of the chorus works well as a unit, though they get their chances to break away and display individual quirks, such as when Carlisle does an amazing imitation of a boiling pot, when Hawkins hands off a baguette during a fight to the death, and Jeffers and Klein play various slimy men backing up Mascarelli. There is no weak link her in either the performance or the production team. From all of Monrad’s little touches through Jessica Flowers’ stunning choreography, this show rocks.

The production values are up to the level of the performances. David J. Castellano’s mixed 80s and neoclassical set is a treat, while Mike Dostal’s creative lighting creates some wonderful moments of its own. Justin DeRo’s costumes are perfect in capturing the gravitas of the production.