(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- A 21st Century theatrical celebration of the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, Charles Mee’s play The Bacchae 2.1 opens Rowan University’s Department of Theatre & Dance mainstage season with performances from October 22 – 25 in Tohill Theatre on the university’s Glassboro campus.
Directed and choreographed by Melanie Stewart, Associate Dean of the College of Performing Arts and a professor of Theatre and Dance, this gritty gender-bending tale is also richly poetic and laced with humor. Mee's work follows Euripides' basic plot, but also draws from a variety of sources ranging from German literary theorist Klaus Theweleit's Male Fantasies to Valerie Solanas' The S.C.U.M. Manifesto.
Dionysus, son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Semele, comes to Thebes. The ruler of the city, Pentheus, refuses to acknowledge Dionysus' godhood. In response, Dionysus unleashes the passions of a group of women that includes Pentheus' mother, Agave. Pentheus' desire to bring down the god leads to a tragic end.
Stewart, who calls the play “a parable on tolerance for the modern world,” notes that Mee describes the play as depicting what happens when the first world meets the third world; the insiders meet the outsiders; the defenders of the old meet the challenge of the new; the champions of reason meet the champions of passion; and the men meet the women.
“My choreography and direction focus on the visceral, leading to raucous collisions of the ancient and the modern,” Stewart states. The production incorporates songs and movement into the storytelling for a highly visual show, with lighting design by Robert Thorpe, scenic design by Marketa Fantova, and costume design by Brian Strachan.Rowan alum Anthony Di Bartolo has composed an original score for the piece and will conduct and perform with a live ensemble that includes music faculty members Dean Witten (percussion), Adeline Tomasone (flute), Douglas Mapp (bass), and Timothy Schwarz (violin) with student Stephen Fleming (percussion). Additionally, professional actors Dan Kern and Curt Whipple Owens bring perspective and experience to bear in an educationally-beneficial collaboration with the ensemble of student actors.
The cast is comprised of La’Nise Ambrose of Mays Landing as the Tattoo Artist, Michael Arigot of Hillsdale as Pentheus, Charlie Barney of Mount Holly as the 2nd Aide, Matt Basen of Freehold as Tony Ulasewitz, Leah Cohen of Maplewood as the Orange Woman, Ileana Fortuño of Huntington, MD as Agave, Dan Kern of Albany, OR as Kadmos, Katie Kiessling of Bridgeton as the Dancer, Anthony Magnotta of Runnemede as Dionysus, Sean McGovern of Pine Hill as the 1st Aide, Tiara Nock of Franklinville as the Tattooed Woman, Curt Whipple Owens of Blackwood as Tiresias, Sam Price of Lincroft as the Lavender Woman, Nina-Marie Scalera of Galloway as the Cook, and Kristy Joe Slough of Wenonah as the Suspended Woman.
The play contains mature subject matter, strong language, and sexual situations and may not be suitable for all audiences.
Performances are October 22, 23 and 24 at 8 pm and October 24 and 25 at 3 pm. Tohill Theatre is in Bunce Hall on the campus of Rowan University, Route 322 in Glassboro, NJ. Tickets are $15, general admission; and $10, seniors/students/alumni/staff/military. Rowan students are admitted free with valid ID. Purchase tickets online at rowan.tix.com. For more information, visit www.rowan.edu/theatredance, call the box office at (856) 256-4545, or email arts@rowan.edu.
