A STORM is brewing
‘Hurricane Diane’ blows into the Vortex Theatre
Diane is a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. But her allure is a ruse. Her true identity lies with the Greeks — the Greek god Dionysus.
“Hurricane Diane” opens at the Vortex Theatre on Friday, July 28. This Southwest premiere runs through Aug. 13.
“It focuses on the things I’m interested in — environmental chaos,” said director Bridget Dunne. “It looks at this complex group of women.”
Dionysus has returned to the modern world to gather mortal followers and restore the earth to its natural state. She first stops at a cul-de-sac in Red Bank, New Jersey, where she’ll need all of her supernatural abilities to seduce four female friends who all want something different from her.
In this Obie-winning comedy with a twist, Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George pens an evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards.
“I’ve loved Greek mythology since I was a kid,” Dunne said. “The fact that a Greek god shows up in the modern world is pretty delightful.”
But not all goes according to plan. Dionysus misjudges one of the women. She thinks the first will be the easiest to recruit, but she’s wrong.
“The women perceive Dionysus as a butch lesbian,” Dunne said. “She’s the god Dionysus, so she’s had other forms and other jobs.”
“Hurricane Diane” premiered off-Broadway in 2019 at New York Theatre Workshop, under the direction of Leigh Silverman. The play made its world premiere at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey in 2017.
“It’s a strange play,” Dunne said. “It’s very funny in some parts. It’s very sexual. I certainly wouldn’t recommend the play for younger folks. It is adult content.”