Virginia Rep to Present OLYMPUS ON MY MIND, 1/31-3/16

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of Olympus on My Mind on Friday, January 31 at Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road. The show runs through Sunday, March 16. This contemporary musical comedy retells the Greek Amphitryon legend where Jupiter comes to Earth in human form to woo beautiful Alcmene, wife of Amphitryon. Jupiter appears to her in the body of her absent husband and quickly wins her love. Things go swimmingly until the real Amphitryon returns from war. This production is one part of the Acts of Faith Festival. First produced Off- Broadway in 1986, the book and lyrics are by Barry Harman with music by Grant Sturiale. Olympus on My Mind won an Outer Critics Award for Best Lyrics and received three Drama Desk nominations.

Virginia Rep first staged this production twenty-five years ago at what is now known as the November Theatre and won the Phoebe award for Best Musical. The show was produced again ten years ago at Willow Lawn. Virginia Rep is delighted to revive this hilarious favorite at Hanover Tavern under the direction of K Strong and musical direction of Jason Marks, with three returning cast members: Richard Travis, Sara Maynard Sommers, and Scott Wichmann.

K Strong made her directing debut with Olympus twenty-five years ago. She has since directed and choreographed many shows, including: 1940s Radio Hour, Mame, A Day in Hollywood- A Night in the Ukraine, Born Yesterday, The Full Monty, and The Wizard of Oz all at Virginia-Rep.

Richard Travis just last week finished his role as Lazar Wolf in Virginia Rep's Fiddler on the Roof. In addition to Virginia Rep Travis has worked with the National Shakespeare Company, the Utah, Alabama and Virginia Shakespeare Festivals as well as other regional theatres across Virginia and the country. Sara Sommers worked with Virginia Rep in past productions of Where's Charley?, Patchwork, Cinderella and Song of Mulan. She is the founder of the volunteer choir, The HeartStrings, where she shares her love of music with senior citizens weekly.

Richmond favorite, Scott Wichmann, was seen this past fall on the Hanover stage as George Burns in Say Goodnight Gracie. He most recently returned from The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina where he played Princeton in Avenue Q. In 2012 he co-starred in Virginia Rep's The Producers as Leo Bloom (2013 RTCC nomination for Best Actor in a Musical). Other Virginia Rep credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Guys and Dolls, Fully Committed, the one-man adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life, and many others.

Photo by Jay Paul