by Mary Zimmerman
from Fitzgerald’s translation of Homer

“The greatest show in the sky, on the seas, even on earth with side trips to the Underworld,” says the New York Times of Zimmerman’s Odyssey.  Like Metamorphoses and Arabian Nights, both produced at 4200, one in a tent, one in a pool, the show, from Fitzgerald’s translation of Homer, is an amalgam of deep intelligence and wild imagination, an adaptation for contemporary audiences. The goddess Athena, a sort of punk rock puppeteer, conducts our journey. Along the way we meet Hermes on a bicycle, Menelaus and Helen (think Euro-trash), the Sirens (a teacher, girl scout, bride, nun) and SHEEP! Penelope waits at home, cleverly fending off the suitors’ advances. The show is accompanied by the music and dance of the Silk Road that Odysseus traveled, including BIG DRUMS and Samurai-like battles. The set includes screens, barricades, sails, and WATER.  

Appropriate for all ages, but recommended for 4^th grade and older.      

Director:  Laura Rosberg
Technical Director:  Christal Boyd
Assistant to the Technical Director:  Becca Balton ‘10
Musicologist & Music Director:  Topher Dunne
Choreographer:  Maria Watson