Company of Ivanov and director Inés Braun (back row, second from left) |
"Hercules Fighting Death to Save Alcestis," Frederick Leighton |
Euripides' Alkestis was controversial and innovative in its time, neither a tragedy nor a comedy, a story of myth and moral conflict. Admetos, King of Pherae, after a scuffle with the Gods, is doomed to die unless someone else dies for him. Denied by his father Pheres, whom I play, and his mother, Admetos' wife, Alkestis, makes the supreme sacrifice. Enter Herakles, who, out of friendship to Admetos, enters the Underworld, defeating Death and bringing back Alkestis from the other side.
In a powerful translation by poet Ann Carson, our production will incorporate live music and
the vision of an international design and producing team. We run at the Connelly Theatre from February 15-18. For more information and tickets click here.
My training is in classical theatre and its my first love. Fortunate as I am in a thriving musical theatre career, I still hanker after chances to do Shakespeare and other classic texts. I am honored to work with Inés again and to be part of her artistic vision. For more on the lady and her work at Columbia, give this profile a read.