PROVIDENCE — Trinity Rep will run a limited-engagement of "An Iliad," by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, Feb. 6 to 10.
Based on Homer’s "The Iliad," this classic tale features a skilled and compelling storyteller who takes the stage to tell a tale of how rage holds the human race.
Directed by acting company member Brian McEleney, who also plays The Poet, this special theatrical event continues the journey with the great poet Home that began with Trinity Rep's production of "black odyssey." A captivating lone storyteller recounts the familiar tales of gods and goddesses, wars and battles, and humanity’s unshakeable attraction to violence, destruction, and chaos over the millennia.
Speaking on the character that he plays, and directs, McEleney said, “The Poet of 'An Iliad' is a Homer-like figure who has been telling the story of the Trojan War for so long, for so many centuries and to so many cultures, in so many languages, that he's forgotten half of it. But he keeps at it, trying to convey the humor, the tragedy, the human interest, of a tale he loves. 'An Iliad' connects us to the fundamental experience at the heart of theater — an actor telling a story to an audience. That's all there is; that's all you need. The rest is decoration.”
Artistic Director Curt Columbus, said, “Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare want us to consider Homer’s narrative of grinding, endless war in the context of all humanity and human history, by placing it in the mouth of one storyteller. Has humanity ever not been at war? What does it mean to turn this impossible question over in the presence of a live audience? What can we carry into the world after hearing the story of our flawed species? Perhaps this is what Homer wanted his audience to consider, almost 3,000 years ago.”
Playwright Peterson is a theater director. O’Hare is an American actor noted for his award-winning performances in the plays "Take Me Out" and "Sweet Charity," as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HBO’s fantasy series "True Blood." O'Hare and Peterson won 2012 Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards for "An Iliad."
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
McEleney (director and The Poet) has been with Trinity Rep for over 34 seasons. As Trinity Rep’s resident associate director he has directed over 20 productions, including "The Grapes of Wrath," "House and Garden," "Absurd Person Singular," "The Crucible," "Twelfth Night," "All the King’s Men," "Our Town," and "Hamlet." Favorite roles include King Lear, Richard II, Richard III, Malvolio, George ("Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"), Dr. Larch ("The Cider House Rules"), Prior Walter ("Angels in America"), and, in his first Trinity appearance, "Mozart in Amadeus." He is a graduate of Trinity College and the Yale School of Drama. He serves as head of the Brown/Trinity MFA Acting program.
Brown/Trinity Rep MFA student Louis Reyes McWilliams will compose and perform original music during the production.
Joining McEleney on the creative team are designers Amanda Downing Carney (costume design), Steve McLellan (lighting design), and Peter Sasha Hurowitz, (sound design).
For tickets, call the box office at 401-351-4242 or visit www.TrinityRep.com.