CRT to Stage New Adaptation of LYSISTRATA, 2/26-3/8

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will present the Greek comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes in the Nafe Katter Theatre on the UConn-Storrs campus from February 26th through March 8th. See how one woman's crusade to end the Peloponnesian War leads to wild laughter, bawdy puns, and both genders begging to make love, not war. For tickets and information, call 860-486-2113 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.

Set in the 1940s in a small northeastern town, this titillating new adaptation by Jen Wineman places the heroines in Rosie the Riverter's overalls and Donna Reed's pearls. Lysistrata's campaign to end war leads the women of Athensville to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers to force a peace accord. The demure housewives shed their inhibitions and firmly grasp control of their situation as they tease a peace for the country. The comedic tension builds to a hysterical climax in this raucous, bawdy, happy idea of a play by the "father of comedy" and calls us to seriously consider war through no-holds-barred laughter.

Director and playwright, Jen Wineman, most recently directed A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL and The 39 Steps at Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC.

Wineman, who also wrote the script for the new adaptation/translation said, "As I reviewed multiple versions of the script, I just couldn't find one that I loved. In so many of them, as I laughed, I asked myself - is this really funny, or am I laughing because I'm shocked that Aristophanes was making penis jokes nearly 2,500 years ago? I decided to make my own translation based on six existing English translations. By looking at multiple versions of the text, I was able to create a play that hopefully reflects the original story while bringing the humor and the setting into a context that we can all enjoy in 2015. It's incredible to realize just how much has changed since 411 BC while so many of our concerns and shortcomings remain the same (Pun intended)."

New York actress Lisa Birnbaum will star as the title character, leading the women in their sexual boycott. Birnbaum makes her CRT debut, but is a regular on Connecticut stages, having received her MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and performing at Long Wharf Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre.

Birnbaum said, "It's always a thrill to approach comedy, but it's wild to realize that the comedy we're approaching was originally written in 411 BC! The fact that something created so long ago can still be accessible or dare I say, relevant, is simply delicious. The prospect of navigating Aristophanes' story through our inescapably contemporary lens is exciting and daunting, but the outcome will hopefully be both illuminating and hilarious."

Jen Wineman is a director and choreographer for theater and opera, living in New York City. In New York, her work has been seen at NYMF, Walkerspace, Elektra Theater, Soho Rep, 59E59, Ars Nova, 3 Legged Dog, Manhattan School of Music, Abingdon Theater, Dixon Place, Classic Stage, HERE Arts Center, the Culture Project, American Place Theatre, the University Settlement, and with Studio 42. Regionally, she has directed at Asolo Rep, Washington Ensemble Theatre, American Theater Group, Theatre Vertigo, Triad Stage, New York Stage and Film, the Experimental Theater of Vassar College, Williamstown Theatre Festival (workshop), WordBRIDGE, and with Telluride Theatre in Telluride, Colorado. Recent projects include directing and choreographing a touring production of A Midsummer Night's Dream performed by the MFA acting students at the FSU/Asolo Rep conservatory in Sarasota, FL. Jen is a co-founder and former board member of Studio 42, a New York based theater company that focuses on producing "unproducible" new work by emerging artists. She is an affiliated artist with New Georges, a member of the 2011/2012 Soho Rep Writer Director Lab, and an associate member of Telluride Theatre.

The Design Team also includes: Geoff Ehrendreich (Scenic Design), Fiona Shaw-Mumford (Costume Design), Adam Lobelson (Lighting Design), Daniel Bria (Sound Design), Julien Winter Tremblay (Stage Management).

Lisa Birnbaum (Lysistrata) Off Broadway: F#%king Up Everything, Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party, I'm Getting My Act Together..., Man of Rock, Lizzie Borden Regional: Midsummer Nights Dream (Playmakers Rep), Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Theatre of D.C.), A Cry of the Reed (Huntington), Italian American Reconciliation (Long Wharf), All's Well That Ends Well (Yale Rep), Romeo and Juliet and Anything Goes(Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Moscows of Nantucket (Theatre Workshop of Nantucket), TV/Film: Law & Order, Guiding Light, Deception, What Would You Do. Education: MFA in Acting, Yale School of Drama.

Blake Segal (Commissioner Gordon) National Tour: Mary Poppins; Off-Broadway: Bones in the Basket (Araca Project); Regional: The Corn Is Green, (Williamstown Theatre Festival); NERDS (Philadelphia Theatre Company, Barrymore Award Nom.); Romeo and Juliet, POP!, Rough Crossing (Yale Repertory Theatre); Carousel (Paper Mill Playhouse); Amadeus, The Winter's Tale, Arcadia, Macbeth, (Chautauqua Theater Company); Good People (The Public Theatre, ME); NYC: Les Enfants de Paris (NYMF); Aristophanes' The Frogs (Fault Line Theatre); Twelfth Night (Three Day Hangover); TV: Blue Bloods. Education: University of Virginia (B.A.) & Yale School of Drama (M.F.A.). Blake is also a Dialect coach and teacher. www.blakesegal.com

The full cast includes MFA Actors Michael Bobenhausen, Arlene Bozich, Natalia Cuevas, Sam Kebede, Curtis Longfellow, Adetinpo Thomas, Bryce Wood; and BFA Actors Whitney Andrews, Gabe Aprea, Shavana Clarke, Madison Coppola, Sarah Jensen, John Manning, Chester Martin, Gavin McNicholl, Joon Ho Oh, Scott Redmond, and Susannah Resnikoff.

Please call 860-486-2113 for tickets or for more information. Please call or visit the box office for specific show dates and times because performance schedules vary and are subject to change. Tickets available online at www.crt.uconn.edu.

Box Office Location - Please note that the CRT box office is housed in the Nafe Katter Theatre, located at 820 Bolton Road. There is short term parking on Bolton Road, in the loading zone directly in front of the theatre. CRT tickets can no longer be purchased at the Jorgensen box office. CRT's box office is open Monday-Friday, noon - 5 p.m., and will also be open one hour prior to show time at the theatre where the performance is taking place.

Weeknight evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Weekend evening performances start at 8 p.m. Matinee performances start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $7 - $30.