The Odyssey

Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story

of that man skilled in all ways of contending,

the wanderer, harried for years on end…

Of these adventures, Muse, daughter of Zeus,

tell us in our time, life the great song again.

Tonight we lift that great song one more time. We take this esteemed tale back to its roots of storytelling. Homer recorded the words in his brilliant poetic style, but the story of the Greek hero, Odysseus, and his epic journey to return home following his victory in the Trojan Wars was passed along for years as a part of the oral tradition of this ancient civilization. With our production we move the tale back to the roots of its oral tradition.

The Odyssey is a story we all know, having read it in high school and perhaps again in a college literature class. Volumes have been written about the poem and its author. In some ways, it seems that little more could be written about Homer’s incredible piece of literature. I may not a be a scholar of Greek mythology, but I do enjoy a good story. It is this passion for storytelling that lead me to this exciting adaptation by Mary Zimmerman. As a renowned theater artists, Ms. Zimmerman has adapted a number of classic tales — bringing them from the page to the stage. Her production of Metamorphoses, a collection of the tales of Ovid, won the Tony award. You may remember our production of Secret in the Wings, based on a collection of ancient fairy tales. The list of creative adaptations is a long and respected one. She has an incredible talent for bringing life back to stories that have been stored away on the printed page.

We have sough to embody the words and characters of the poem in a way that may cause the audience to look again at a story they thought they knew as though they had never really experienced it before. In an age when entertainment values continue to soar, it seems that it is harder and harder to top the last special effect. The focus in many virtual and cinematic experiences seems to be more on the visual spectacle than on the story.

It has been a great experience for us to explore ways to help this story come to life. Our focus has remained on the story and not on the contrivance of ingenuity and special effects. How might we use our bodies and voices to tell this memorable tale in a way that may make our audience see and hear it anew? How are the stories explored in this classic tale our stories? The stories of waiting, of longing and faithfulness, of the importance of home and what that means to us are all our stories as well as Odysseus’. In the end, Odysseus discovers what it means to be a man. No longer embracing his heroic nature and his need to prove himself with competitions, he is able to plant his oar and say farewell to the sea.

We now invite you to join us on this epic journey. You are the last needed ingredient in this process. It is our hope that your imagination will be engaged, that you will not merely sit back and observe as a spectator, but rather lean into the story as it is told, that you will agree to become a spectactor and participate in the creation of this exciting moment of theatre.

Join with us as we lift this great song one more time.