Iphigenia in Aulis
by Euripides
Adapted and directed by Edward Einhorn
Read about the book, from Image Comics
ORIGINALLY PERFORMED:
At La MaMa’s First Floor Theatre
74 E 4th St
Feb 14 – Mar 3, 2013
Music by Aldo Perez
Choreography by Patrice Miller
Art by Eric Shanower
Sets and masks by Jane Stein
Costumes by Carla Gant
Lighting by Jeff Nash
With:
Amy Melissa Bentley, Lynn Berg*, Michael Bertolini*, Ivanna Cullinan*, Giselle Chatelain, Laura Hartle*, Paul Murillo, Eric Emil Oleson*, Jenny Lee Mitchell*, Sandy York*, Emily Clare Zempel*
Musicians: Matthew Brundrett (drums), Aldo Perez (guitar), Mike Strauss (bass)
Stage Manager: Berit Johnson, Vocal Coach: Henry Akona, Assistant Director/Assistant Music Director: Daniela Hart, Fight Choreography: Dan Zisson, Asst Costume/Wardrobe: Jana Fronczek
Featuring music of downtown indie rocker Aldo Perez (from the band The Renaldo The Ensemble) and the work of graphic novelist Eric Shanower (author of the award-winning Age of Bronze series), Edward Einhorn’s new adaptation reexamines Euripides’ play about democracy versus ochlocracy (mob rule) and the role of religion in popular uprisings, subjects made particularly relevant by Arab Spring.
Masks by Jane Stein are both worn and “puppeteered” as a second self, separating the characters from their classic archetypes and revealing more basic human emotions beneath. Deliberately anachronistic, the production mixes the contemporary with the classical and uses pop iconography of comics to examine the timeless, philosophical elements of the myth.
Presented by La MaMa in association with Untitled Theater Company #61
photos by Richard Termine
Reviews
“[Edward Einhorn’s] treatment is a new standard text of language unadorned but not austere, the straightforward arguments of state and dialogues of moral dilemma almost entirely free of poetic ornament but elevated to distinguished oratory and elemental outcry by the external pressures and expressive necessities the characters face...an essentially flawless ensemble.”
— Adam McGovern,
fanchild
“The actors trust the story and the words, skillfully bringing out all the pathos and human drama..Hartle offers a splendid rainbow of reaction, from desperate begging to acceptance to noble idealism.. Exquisite mask-topped implements represent the public faces of the main characters and hark back to the masked performances Euripides's audiences would have seen. The visuals succeed all around, in fact – not just the masks and the sets (Jane Stein) but the unprepossessingly perfect costumes (Carla Gant), the subtle lighting (Jeff Nash), and the graphic art contributions from Eric Shanower. ”
— Jon Sobel,
blogcritics
“Very fine performances and the most beautiful masks I have ever seen.”