Greek Theatre Festival Presents THE BAKKHAI 9/19-27

The play, also known as The Bacchae, was based on historical reports of women becoming frenzied and performing Bacchite revelry and related violence at Thebes, Argos, Orchomenes and in Athens. It begins with Dionysus returning to Greece after establishing his cult in Asia and spreading it from northern Greece via Macedonia down to Athens starting in the seventh century B.C. He comes to Thebes, his birthplace, in the form of a handsome young man at the head of a band of Maenads. The new king, Pentheus, has no respect for this new god and forbids the practice of the Bacchite rites. Dionysus drives all the women of Thebes, including the king's mother and her sisters, to take to the slopes of Mount Cithaeron to revel in a Bacchite frenzy.

This is the 39th annual Classic Greek Theatre Festival and is returning to Red Butte Gardens.

WHEN:
September 19 - 27, 2009, Red Butte Gardens

TIMES:
Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 a.m.

WHERE:
Red Butte Gardens
300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City

PRICE:
$13, General Public
$10, Staff and Faculty
$7, Students

MORE INFO:
Tickets maybe purchased from Red Butte Gardens at 801-585-0556, or Kingsbury Hall at 801-581-7100.

The Classical Greek Theatre Festival (CGTF) is an annual theatrical event created to introduce and sustain the appreciation of ancient Greek theatre throughout communities and campuses in various southwestern and western states. CGTF is committed to the idea that Greek drama, like Shakespearean drama, has much to offer contemporary audiences. Support for the theatre includes the University of Utah's Department of Theatre, The Utah Humanities Council, The Utah Arts Council and The Salt lake City Arts Council.