The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘One exciting evening of dramatic theater’
Oddfellows Youth Playhouse staging epic tragedies by Euripides
MIDDLETOWN — The Teen Repertory Company at Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown is taking on two epic tragedies by Euripides this spring: “Iphigenia at Aulis” and “The Trojan Women.”
“It promises to be one exciting evening of dramatic theater,” the venue said in a press release.
“The Greeks,” created in 1979 for the Royal Shakespeare Com. by director John Barton and playwright/translator Kenneth Cavander, will be performed May 19 to 21 and 27 to 28 at 7 p.m. at 128 Washington St.
”This is one of the most ambitious projects which the Teen Repertory Company — made up of 21 actors between the ages of 14 and 20 — has taken on in recent years,” the news release said.
The two-hour show starts with the Greek fleet assembling at Aulis to rescue Helen from Troy, only to be stymied when the Greek general Agamemnon is required by the Goddess Artemis to sacrifice his eldest daughter Iphigenia if the fleet wants to get the wind to set sail.
The second half (The Trojan Women) takes place 10 years later, when Troy has been ravaged and the royal women of Troy are being claimed by the Greeks as slaves and concubines, Oddfellows said.
“This play is deep and dark and ancient, yet it resonates with images that we see daily coming from Ukraine and other war-torn places,” Artistic Director Dic Wheeler said in a prepared statement. “It addresses love, loyalty, sacrifice, cruelty, family — deep human issues that are as real today as they were in
408 B.C.”
Artfarm Artistic Director Marcella Trowbridge is
co-director and choreographer for “The Greeks.”
“Young people right now
are dealing with a lot of trauma, a lot of grief,” she said in the statement. “While we chose a comedy in the fall to help them feel comfortable coming together again after nearly two years of pandemic, this spring we felt that ‘The Greeks’ could provide a powerful vessel for all the grief they are experiencing. They have been doing amazing and inspiring emotional work with this material,” she added.
Scenic design is by Tina Hurlbert, with lighting design by J-P LaRocco. Costume design is by Daniel Schmidt, and sound design and original music from Banning Eyre of Afropop Worldwide. Properties design is by Caleb Warner.
For information about this production and other Playhouse programs, call 860-347-6143, email info@oddfellows.org, or go to oddfellows.org.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $10 for students, and may be purchased on the website. The May 19 performance is a “pay-what-youcan” preview. Seating is limited and reservations are strongly recommended.
The play contains violence and cruelty and is not recommended for young children.
This Teen Repertory Co. production is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, with additional support from the Middletown Commission on the Arts; Connecticut Office of the Arts / DECD, Fund for Greater Hartford, American Savings Foundation, Connecticut Judicial Branch (Youth Violence Prevention), Middletown Youth Services Bureau, city of Middletown, Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Trust Fund, Middlesex United Way, CHEFA Cultural Relief Grant, New England Foundation for the Arts/ New England Arts Resilience Fund, George & Grace Long Foundation, and many individual donors.