PENELOPE by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz is Coming to Lyric Stage Boston

Before the blockbuster film The Odyssey hits theaters this summer, hear the story told from the point of view of the woman waiting at home, Odysseus's wife, Penelope. This bold and innovative new musical with Music, Lyrics, and Arrangements by Alex Bechtel and a Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, and Eva Steinmetz is a fresh and evocative look at one of the oldest stories in the world told by one of Boston's most beloved actors, Aimee Doherty and directed by Lyric Stage Boston's Producing Artistic Director Courtney O'Connor.

A generous glass of bourbon, a five-piece band, and ninety minutes are all Penelope needs to tell her side of the story as she embraces her heartache, loneliness, and resolve during the wait for her husband Odysseus to return from a seemingly endless war. Her son has disappeared. Relentless suitors prance before her. Days drone on as she is left to wonder who she is if she is alone. From jazz to folk to indie rock, Penelope dishes the dirt in a captivating cacophony of emotions that redefines what we might know of her through a modern lens.

Director Courtney O'Connor° says. “While we're not all waiting with great uncertainty for our spouse to return after twenty years of war, that moment of consideration is all too familiar.  Change comes often without warning or permissions and whether we want it or not. I look forward to navigating Penelope's story, exploring how we step into an uncertain future while honoring and carrying the much loved and longed-for past with us.”
Performances begin Friday, February 6 and run through Sunday, March 1.