by Aristophanes
(loosely Adapted from Translations by
Dudley Fitts and Douglass Parker)
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April 1991
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Directed by
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Kay DeFord |
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Produced by
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| Susan Tucker | |
Notes from the Director:
On the origin of Comedy...
The word comedy derives from the Greek words comos (procession of townsfold) and ode (song.) What originated as satiric comments of the townsfolk or audience, became formally adopted into the plays as verses sung by both male and female choruses. It is these choral verses that ultimately became the essence of the play form known as old comedy. This form had its chief representative in Aristophanes (c. 448-388 B.C.)
Lysistrata was written in 412 B.C. It survives today largely because it is an extraordinarily witty and ribald farce. It is also a political satire written by Aristophanes in a desperate attempt to point out the disastrous folly of the war being waged between Athens and Sparta. The ruler of Athens, Cleon, was the particular butt of hi wit - a ruler deemed by Aristophanes to be a demagogue skilled at manipulating the emotions of the masses and a prototype of that paradoxical being, the democratic dictator. The humor of the play succeeds today as we appreciate Aristophanes' use of the sexual impulse as a seductive plea for peace, and an end to the absurdities of war ... for anytime.
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The Women
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Lysistrata
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Kalonike
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Myrrhine
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Ismenia
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Korinthian Woman
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Lampito
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Female Chorus
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Peony
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Phoebe
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Peppermint
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Penelope
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Prudence
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The Men
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Magistrate
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Rob Silva
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Kinesias
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Stacy John Thomas
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Athenian
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Attendant/ Slave/ Herald
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Attendant/ Spartan Ambassador
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Male Chorus
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Sarge
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Doc
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Dudley
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Algernon
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Hooper
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| The
Crew |
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| Set design |
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| Lighting design |
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| Costume design |
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| Stage Manager |
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| Props/ set dressing |
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| Set construction |
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| Costume construction |
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| Photography | |
| Hair design |
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