Penelope at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

No more waiting in the wings—Penelope takes center stage, and she’s got some things to say. With bourbon in hand, she grabs the mic to deliver her side of the story, recounting her twenty-year wait on the small island of Ithaca while her husband, Odysseus, was off playing hero.

This witty musical flips the script on the dutiful wife history wants you to believe in—Penelope’s done being a footnote in her husband’s epic; this time, she’s writing her own odyssey. With soulful songs, razor-sharp storytelling, and an onstage band doubling as her modern-day Greek chorus, Penelope transforms the tale you thought you knew into a solo cabaret act like no other. It’s raw, fiery, and fiercely original as she steps out of the shadows to set the record straight, and she’s not holding back.

This isn’t just a retelling; it’s a revolution.

Authors

• J. Radloff
• W. Somerset Maugham