When do we sacrifice too much in war?
By Susan Schaul
Does history repeat itself? Playwright Charles Mee believes so. He has put a modern day twist on a 2.400-year-old story originally written by Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and her name means strong-born. Her father, Agamemnon, is told that if he wants enough wind power to sail to Troy, he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to a fellow named Artemis.
Now Charles Mee, playwright, takes that basic story and places it in today’s Middle East conflict. Agamemnon becomes the Leader of the Free World. He must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia in order to convince the soldiers that the war is worth fighting. The women’s chorus, celebrities of the tabloid culture, deal with the paparazzi while the men try to figure out the war. Iphigenia 2.0 is not exactly the Web 2.0, but it poses questions for all of us to consider: what sacrifices are too great to make during a time of war? Is the life of one worth the lives of many?
Iphigenia 2.0 starts a new partnership between the Cleveland Public Theatre and Oberlin College. Oberlin students will perform on the CPT stage along with the professional actors.
This performance, April 12-28, features: Heather Anderson Boll*, Ali Bianchi, Hayden Gilbert, Andrew Gombas, Hallie Haas, Tom Woodward*, Llewie Nunez, David Ohana, Ellie Philips, Aaron Profumo, Aily Roper, Marina Shay, Andy Sold, Nicholas Sweeney, Lillian White and Colin Wulff.
*Member Actors’ Equity Association
For more information, visit http://CPTonline.org. Performances run from Thu 4/12 through Sat 4/28. Tickets $10- $25.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul, who says the act of writing is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge lies in getting the pieces to fit together and make sense.
Cleveland, OH 44102