PENELOPE One-Woman Musical is Coming to Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
It previews May 28-29, opens May 30, and runs through June 8 in the Schubert Theatre at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 29, 2025
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, in partnership with Philadelphia's Theatre Horizon, will present Penelope-a fiercely original musical that finally gives voice to one of history's most enduring-and long-silenced-women. This one-woman tour de force reimagines Homer's epic with a soulful score, razor-sharp storytelling, and an onstage band serving as her modern Greek chorus. No longer a footnote in her husband's saga, Penelope takes the mic-drink in hand-to reclaim her story in an electrifying solo cabaret.
Inspired by Homer's The Odyssey, Penelope-featuring music, lyrics, and a book by Alex Bechtel, co-written with Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz-was recently named a Barrymore Recommended production. It previews May 28-29, opens May 30, and runs through June 8 in the Schubert Theatre at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of DeSales University.
Created by five-time Barrymore Award-winning composer, actor, writer, director, teaching artist, and multi-instrumentalist Alex Bechtel, Penelope has captivated audiences from concert stages to full productions-including acclaimed performances at Joe's Pub at ThePublic Theater, Rockwood Music Hall in NYC, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia's Theatre Horizon.
According to Bechtel, "Penelope is a musical love letter to all those who wait-for someone they love, for something to believe in, and for the hope that the waiting will end well."
Rachel Camp reprises her performance as Penelope, returning to the role after its celebrated run at Theatre Horizon. She is joined by Eva Steinmetz (co-author), who returns as director. Camp's select regional credits include Ragtime (Arden Theatre), Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon, Barrymore Award), and productions at the Walnut Street Theatre. Steinmetz, artistic producer at Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theatre Company, has directed and
co-written works at the Wilma Theater, FringeArts, and Off-Broadway at WP Theater and New York Theatre Workshop.
A live band serves as a modern Greek chorus with Music Director Justin Yoder, also on cello, conducting the ensemble featuring Garrett Davis (percussion), Nicole Fassold-Harabaruaru (viola), Jamison Forman (piano), and Rachel Massey (violin). The creative team includes set and props by You-Shin Chen, lighting design by Thom Weaver, costume design by Nikki Delhomme, and sound design by Damien Figueras. The
production stage manager is Randi Alexis Hickey.
Penelope previews May 28-29, with the official opening on May 30, and runs through June 8 in the Schubert Theatre at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts (Center Valley, PA).
The Production Sponsors for Penelope are Keith and Stefanie Wexler; and the Co-Sponsor is The Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation.
The Festival's 2025 Season Sponsors are Marilyn McDonald, MD and Joe Folger. The Associate Season Sponsors are Mary Bongiorno, Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth, Kathleen Kund Nolan and Timothy E. Nolan, Yvonne Payne and Edward Spitzer, The Szarko Family, and Harry C. Trexler Trust.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is the Lehigh Valley's Professional Equity Theatre hosted on the campus of DeSales University, and the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, featuring acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and is the summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore Awards.
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