Thyestes' Feast, a new Greek tragedy based on fragments of lost plays written and directed by Peter Wing Healey, will have its world premiere when it opens at the Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center in Los Angeles on October 26, 2008.
Thyestes' Feast is co-directed by Russell Ellison, with costumes by Karolyn Kiisel and sets by Tanya Kovaleski. Described as "Project Runway meets Oedipus Rex," Thyestes' Feast is an Elizabethan/Mycenaen/Kabuki fantasy filled with wit, humor and emotion as one of the great lost plays of Antiquity.
Peter Wing Healey, dancer, actor, writer, choreographer, director, known for his portrayal of female characters, will be featured in his new play, THYESTES' FEAST, based on fragments of lost Greek plays set in a high fashion version of the culture of ancient Mycenae. Mr. Wing Healey is known especially for the role of Mrs. Stahlbaum in
Mark Morris's ballet "The Hard Nut" as seen on Great Performances on PBS and on Ovation TV. Octavio Roca of the San Francisco Chronicle called Wing Healey "a cross between the dance goddess Isadora and the late movie star Divine."
Wing Healey says, "I stumbled on the fact that Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles had all written trilogies on the subject. But all their full plays are lost. However, enough pieces of the original plot have survived to recreate the story." Mr. Wing Healey decided to write his own version of the play. "Of course, there is shrapnel; fragments of whatever was in my brain: a recipe for chicken stew, a bit of Levi-Strauss, some Game Theory, old Hollywood movies, the situation in this country, etc. etc.."
However, myth lovers of every stripe may rest assured that the play contains a faithful account of the original story.
SYNOPSIS: Atreus is king. His wife Aerope betrays him, becoming lovers with, and giving the throne, which is in her power to give, to his younger brother Thyestes. Thyestes, generous, benevolent ruler, beloved of the people, is ousted when his predilection for seducing the young virgins of the court comes to light. He and Aerope are exiled in the forest for ten years. When they return the people are anxious to forgive and reinstate them. Atreus must think of a way to get rid of them. He murders Thyestes' two sons and has them cooked into a stew. Aerope takes poison and dies. When Thyestes eats he is doomed to perpetual banishment. He calls down a curse on the House of Atreus. When the Sun sees what Atreus has done She retreats, furious, plunging the Earth into darkness.
The Golden Ram and The Sun will be played by former New York City Ballet dancer, Bridgette Trahan. Atreus will be played by Michael Serrato, recently of the Groundlings and Big Gay Sketch Show directed by
Rosie O'Donnell, alternating with Clint Steinhauser, a member of Rachel Rosenthal's Fauve Conspiracy. Mr. Wing Healey will play the tormented Queen Aerope. Rounding out the cast will be Pat Lach, a veteran Los Angeles actress, Nathalie Broizat also of Fauve Conspiracy, Bruce Andersen of The Invisible Theater,
David Anthony Hernandez, Robert Long and Michael Griffith.
The show will perform Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 7PM with an official opening Sunday, October 26 and runs through November 30, 2008 at the Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center, 11006 Magnolia near corner of Magnolia and Vineland, North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Running Time is 2 hours plus 15 minute intermission and light refreshments are available. For more information please visit
www.mesopotamianopera.org. Tickets can be purchased by calling 323 960 7745 or visiting
www.plays411.com/feast
Peter Wing Healey, performer, librettist, choreographer, director and founder of The Mesopotamian Opera Company, Inc., whose original operas have been presented in New York at P.S. 122, The Judson Church, The Vineyard Theater, The Middle Collegiate Church, The R.A.P.P. Arts Center, H.E.R.E., The Greenwich House and Alice Tully Hall, LATC, Highways and The Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock in northeast Los Angeles. Mr. Wing Healey has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 1996. He has a long association with The
Mark Morris Dance Group both as a performer and as rehearsal director. He worked as a soloist in The Hard Nut, as rehearsal director on The White Oak Project with
Mikhail Baryshnikov and has been balletmaster on the
John Adams/Peter Sellars opera Nixon in China. In Los Angeles he has danced original works at The Getty Center, 2100 Square Feet, U.C.L.A., L.A.T.C. and Highways. He has received support for his work from American Opera Projects, TWEED Productions, The Gilman Foundation, The Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, The Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Los Angeles, The Jim and Elaine Marcus Foundation and The
Noah Wyle Foundation. 1n 2006 he received the coveted James Irvine Foundation New Connections Grant of $25,000 for his urbanist opera, The Tree.
