A new production will examine the power that sex, or lack thereof, has.
On Wednesday the School of Theater will present Ellen McLaughlin’s Lysistrata, a contemporary take on a Greek myth.
The original version of the show told the story of Greek women who withheld sex from their solider husbands in order to create peace and bring an end to the Peloponnesian War.
Brian Evans, the show’s director, said he is looking forward to the challenge this show will provide to both him and his students.
“The concept of blending antiquity and the modern world has been challenging artistically,” Evans said.
McLaughlin’s modern version of Lysistrata was composed in response to the 9/11 attacks and subsequent military operations in the Middle East. She was inspired to write the play by the Lysistrata Project that was launched in an attempt to restore peace.
Evans said he believes McLaughlin’s modern adaptation on Aristophanes’ work makes this version relatable to college-aged people.
“We’re in a time where many of us know somebody that is involved in the military,” Evans said. “There are many parallels to what people are dealing with ... What these characters are going through mirrors many of our lives.”
Set designer Caroline Voss said she agreed that many references within the show could be translated into modern terms and be relatable to everyday American life.
“(The play) had pretty broad strokes. Obviously, it’s a sex comedy; it has a very strong modern twist to it ... which was certainly a direction that Brian (Evans) wanted to go with it,” Voss said. “The breadth of it helps a lot with the energy of the show.”
Though the play focuses on abstaining from sex, Chelsea Cannon, a junior studying theater performance, was not fazed by the sexuality of the script. The rest of her cast mates agreed.
“We are all really comfortable with each other,” Cannon said. “It was pretty natural from the get-go.”
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