Wayne T. Carr and Andrus Nichols to Lead THE ODYSSEY at American Repertory Theater
The Odyssey begins performances at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square, Cambridge, on Sunday, February 9, 2025.
American Repertory Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for the world premiere of The Odyssey. Playwright Kate Hamill turns a contemporary feminist lens on Homer’s epic in this world-premiere commission developed at the A.R.T. and directed by Shana Cooper.
The Odyssey begins performances at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square, Cambridge, on Sunday, February 9, 2025, opens officially on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, and runs through Sunday, March 16, 2025.
From the Cyclops to the Sirens, audiences will experience this cultural touchstone’s legendary adventures like never before. “Ms. Hamill’s adaptations of the classics (Sense & Sensibility, Vanity Fair, Dracula) are endlessly ingenious…she has unlimited talent; whatever she decides to do, it will be worth seeing,” says The Wall Street Journal. Hamill’s latest play reimagines the adventures of the hero Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, and asks how we can learn to embrace healing and forgiveness in order to end cycles of violence and revenge.
“This play is half about Penelope, half about Odysseus,” says Hamill, “But it's also about: if you've gone through something traumatic, can you ever go back to who you were? Can you ever go back home? “It's really, really meaningful to be working on this now and it takes a really special theater to take this on.”
Wayne T. Carr and Andrus Nichols lead the cast as Odysseus and Penelope, respectively. They are joined by Carlo Albán (Telemachus/Nausithous), Abigail Baird (Puppeteer), Benjamin Bonenfant (Elpenor/Suitor), Alejandra Escalante (Woman 1/Nausicaa), Kate Hamill (Woman 2/Circe), Nike Imoru (Woman 3/Anticlea/Andromache), Keshav Moodliar (Amphinomous/Antinous), Jason O’Connell (Polites/Polyphemus/Suitor), and Chris Thorn (Eurylochus/Agamemnon/Suitor). KRISTIAN ESPIRITU and Alexandria King are understudies. Additional understudies will be announced at a later date.
Erin Albrecht is the production stage manager. Emma Nafz is the assistant stage manager. Molly Bercutt and Ross Gray are the production assistants. Casting is by The Telsey Office/Karyn Casl, CSA.
Hamill is joined on the creative team by Princess Grace Award winner Shana Cooper (director), Stephanie Martinez (movement director), Kate Brehm (puppetry director and designer), Sibyl Wickersheimer (scenic design), An-lin Dauber (costume design), Obie Award winner Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (lighting and projection design), and Paul James Prendergast (sound design and music composition). Ted Hewlett is the fight director and Kayleigh Kane is the intimacy coordinator.
Taylor Yocum is the associate movement director, Kyle J. Artone is the associate Costume Designer, Jessica Elliot is the associate lighting designer, and Matt Tennie is the associate projection designer.
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