Boston College Theatre Department Presents Aristophanes's LYSISTRATA 2/22-25

The Boston College Theatre Department continues the 30th anniversary season of the University's Robsham Theater Arts Center with its second workshop production: Aristophanes's classic comedy Lysistrata, in a new translation by Sarah Ruden.  Directed by BC senior Theatre major Alex Lucci, the production will be presented February 22–25, 2012 in the Robsham's Bonn Studio.

When Lysistrata grows sick and tired of unending war, she rallies the women of Greece to take matters into their own hands: they embrace abstinence until peace is declared and cut off funding for the war by occupying the Treasury.  This approach turns out to be difficult, and triggers a series of comic confrontations; at the center is the determined, no-nonsense crusader Lysistrata--a modern heroine in an ancient comedy. 

"I wanted to direct this play because I admire the strength of the characters," says Lucci. "These women are incredibly powerful. It's incredible how relevant this play still is today."

Aristophanes, the King of Comedy in ancient Athens, wrote more than 40 plays, of which 11 survive today.  His most frequent subject is the long-running Peloponnesian War which dominated Athens for much of his adult life.  Aristophanes used slapstick comedy, political satire, metaphorical fantasy and complex wordplay to create comedies that pointed fingers at what was wrong in contemporary society.  His best-known and most enduring play, Lysistrata offers a comic critique of the absurdity of war.  

The BC Theatre Department production and features an all- student design team: Cynthia Beckwith '12 (scenery), Elise Hudson '12 (costumes), Victoria Sponsel '13 (lighting) and Maggie Maguire '13 (sound).  The cast includes Allison Russell '12 as Lysistrata, Phoebe Kuhlman '13 as Calonice, Colleen Quigley '12 as Myrrhine, Sarah Goldstein '13 as Lampito, Steven Kreager '12 as the Councilor, Robert Scobie '13 as Cinesias, and Kyle Brown '14 as the Spartan Ambassador. Juliana Forsberg-Lary '12, Taleen Shrikian '15 and Alexandra Lewis '14 are the Old Women's Chorus, and Cam Cronin '12, Billy McEntee '14 and Eliott Purcell '14 are the Old Men's Chorus.

The production opens Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday, February 25, 2012 in the Bonn Studio in the Robsham Theater Arts Center.  General admission tickets are $15, $10 for students, seniors, and BC faculty and staff.  All tickets are available online at www.bc.edu/theatre, through the RTAC Box Office, or by calling 617?552?4002. For more information, please go to www.bc.edu/theatre.

BOSTON COLLEGE THEATRE DEPARTMENT In 1865, two years after Boston College opened, theater began at BC. It continued for many years as a student activity under the aegis of the Dramatics Society. In the early 1970s the College of Arts and Sciences established a theater major as part of the Department of Speech, Communications and Theatre. The Robsham Theater Arts Center opened in 1981 as the center of theater production on campus. In 1993 the Theatre Department was established as an independent department. Since then, both the academic and production programs have grown steadily in terms of faculty staff, theater majors, course offerings, and the quality and quantity of productions. For more information go to www.bc.edu/theatre.

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