An Iliad
Synopsis
REGIONAL PREMIERE!
by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare
based on Homer’s The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles
“Every time I sing this song, I hope it’s the last time.”
With his battered suitcase by his side, the poet tells his story: of gods and goddesses, kings and heroes, consuming envy, epic battles, an endless war. An ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a striking new telling filled with wit and eternal wisdom. Steve Hendrickson (Crime and Punishment, Blackbird, Mercy of a Storm), as an old man who’s seen too much, leads us on the sweeping journey.
“Spellbinding…an age-old story that resonates with tragic meaning today.”
-The New York Times
Performances are August 15-25.
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 pm. Thursday and Sunday at 2 pm.
[sc:Yellow-Link url=”https://chestertheatre.org/plan-your-visit/buy-tickets/” name=”BUY TICKETS HERE” ]
[sc:Small-Text-Start ] An Iliad is sponsored by Dorothy Benzian.
Production design is sponsored by Fred and Jessica Olefson.
[sc:Small-Text-End ]
Cast
[sc:Col-1-2-Left-Start ]The Poet
Steve Hendrickson*
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
in the United States
Artists
Playwrights: Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare,
based on The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles
Directed by: Sheila Siragusa
Set and Costume Design: Vicki R. Davis
Lighting Design: Lara Dubin
Stage Manager: Caskey Hunsader*
Sound Design Composed and Performed by: Tom Shread
Articles
An Iliad’ examines poles of human nature
from Berkshires Week, August 15 2013, by Kate Abbott
Homer’s ‘Iliad’ sparks generations of art
from Berkshires Week, August 15 2013, by Lauren Bender
Rebuilding Civilization
from Berkshires Week, August 15 2013, by Kate Abbott
Reviews
“Extraordinary… Even as The Poet struggles on occasion for the right words, the right thoughts, the right expressions to narrate a story he knows too well, there is something fresh in his idiosyncratic cautionary account of war as an instrument of national policy and the people, the ordinary people, who comprise war’s collateral damage. As the Poet, Hendrickson tells Homer’s story as if it were his own; as if he were witness to history. His narrative is told with discovery, dramatic flair, hushed respect and understanding, tempered by wit, irony and an everyman’s directness and absence of guile or pretense. The pain and sorrow in the Poet’s eyes speak volumes to the notion that for all the advances mankind has made in the centuries since the Trojan War, this story still has relevance, still needs to be told. I suspect it has not been told with as much haunting eloquence as it is being told at Chester Town Hall.”
-Jeffrey Borak, Berkshire Eagle
