Aristophanes News

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for its first autumn SPRINGBOARD show Lysistrata, a re-imagined classic, showcasing emerging young West London talent and exciting new writing.

If this Avignon season's other marathon project, the 13-hour Nid de Cendres, calls to mind a jewel box, Ma Jeunesse Exaltée calls to mind bathroom stall graffiti. The ten-hour long burlesque serves as the capstone to Olivier Py's tenure as artistic director of the Festival d'Avignon. In it he passes the baton, not to Avignon's next artistic director Tiago Rodrigues, but to a new generation of vibrant performers. Amongst this new generation is the indefatigable Bertrand de Roffignac, who performs a staggering harlequin marathon. Through the run time of the performance he never falters in precision or intensity. Indeed, on a scale of one to ten, the entire ensemble never lets the their work calm itself down past and eleven.

What did our critic think of BWW REVIEWS: OTTERBEIN’S PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Cowen Hall? Otterbein University offers a much-needed refresher course in Gilbert and Sullivan with its presentation of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE for its final production of the summer season. The two-act comedic musical closes this week with shows on July 14-16 at Cowan Hall (30 S. Grove Street in Westerville). Directed by Lenny Leibowitz and produced by T.J. Gerckens, the show features a whimsical plot with outlandish lyrics, outstanding performances, and spectacular costuming and music orchestration.

The trustees of HighTide announced that they have appointed Clare Slater, currently Head of New Work at the Donmar Warehouse as the next Artistic Director of HighTide. She will lead the company alongside Executive Director Rowan Rutter as joint Chief Executives. Clare takes over from Suba Das, former Artistic Director and Chief Executive of HighTide.

Tickets are available for LYSISTRATA playing at Theater at Monmouth from June 25th through August 18th. Theater at Monmouth opens the It’s Greek (and Roman) to ME! Season with this funny, poignant, and political comic romp.

That standing ovation was very well-deserved.

'If at First' and 'The Big Match', the first two comedies in this collection were produced and directed Off Broadway by Gary Beck for the traditional theatre going audience.

State of the Union - American Sketches a poetry collection by Gary Beck is available now. 

After running Neverland Theatre for 31 years, Artistic Director Andy Diskes (Greek American) has finally realized his goal of producing his own new adaption of Lysistrata which he is dubbing The Naughty Ancient Greek Comedy. The production is playing April 29 to May 1, 2022 at Peabody's Black Box Theater, 22 Foster St., Peabody, MA.

Director and writer Gary Becks has released a new poetry book, Lacerations. Lacerations is a poetry collection that looks at the many injuries we incur, mentally, emotionally and physically as we strive to do better in this difficult life.

Through modern adaptations and classic takes on the original plays and myths; TAM’s 53rd Season will feature gods, demigods, heroes, and heroines, and every satyr in-between.

Emmy-winning composer Jim Dooley teams up with Troubies’ founder Matt Walker to world premiere the ‘dynamic plot-concepted’ The Revue at the Colony Theater opening March 17, 2022. Matt directs the cast of himself with Rick Batalla, Katie DeShan, Tiffany Daniels, Isaac Robinson-Smith and Travis Leland. Jim carved some time from rehearsals to explain his novel dynamic plot concept and chat on some highlights of his varied career.

Katsura Sunshine will continue performances of Katsura Sunshine's Rakugo as part of his year-long residency at the Leicester Square Theater.  Sunshine is also preparing to simultaneously return to New York City on March 10, 2022, where the show ran for six months until COVID shut it down.  

In the best-case scenario, by the end of the 21st century, the Earth will “only” become warmer by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Realistically, it will be much hotter. Severe heat waves and rising water levels are only two of the main symptoms of this; coral reefs will disappear almost entirely and animal species will go completely extinct. Seas will swallow cities whole. Polar bears will become a fever dream.

Mrs. Doubtfire, the new musical comedy, officially opened on Broadway tonight, December 5, at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 W 43rd St). Check out what the critics are saying!

The most important figure in musical theatre history is gone; let's celebrate his life by listening to his incredible works. Reviewer Peter Nason gets you started by listing his choices for the 91 greatest Sondheim songs.

The world’s only Western Rakugo Master, Katsura Sunshine, will return to live performances on two continents simultaneously. Beginning on December 12th, Katsura Sunshine’s Rakugo will play the West End with a year-long residency at the Leicester Square Theater and will return to New York City’s New World Stages on January 27th, 2022.

Getty has announced the return of its in-person Villa Theater Lab with After Iphigenia, a kaleidoscopic composition written and directed by Nancy Keystone, created in collaboration with her ensemble, Critical Mass Performance Group. It takes place at the Villa Auditorium from Friday, November 12 to Sunday, November 14. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online here.

HERE has announced full casting for The Hang, featuring book and lyrics by Taylor Mac, music by Matt Ray and directed by Niegel Smith. Co-presented with PROTOTYPE: Opera | Theatre | Now, The Hang will begin performances on Friday January 7, 2022, on the HERE Mainstage (145 Sixth Avenue, NY, NY 10013) for a run through Sunday February 20, 2022.

During the opening number, the Troubadour Theatre Company, affectionately known to all as the Troubies, comment how thrilled the troupe, and the audience by extension, is to have returned to live theatre. The audience responded with glorious applause, and both the occasion and the Troubies deserve that adulation. The Troubies, who have rocked Los Angeles for the last 25 years, are one of the most creative teams in the city. Their imagination and gumption has entertained with parodies of classical works infused with a musical motif such as Alice In One-Hit Wonderland, Much ADoobie Brothers About Nothing, and A Charlie James Brown Christmas. Their latest, Lizastrata, based on both the Greek Aristophanes comedy Lysistrata and the songs made popular by Liza Minnelli, could have been a dazzler, but with a gossamer plot, too many recycled jokes, and a venue ill-equipped to allow the cast to sing with heft, the latest production is uninspired.