Kelley Curran reprises her STC role of Clytemnestra in virtual TFANA production (photo from STC world premiere by Scott Suchman)
Who: Obi Abili, Corey Allen, Helen Carey, Kathleen Chalfant, Kelley Curran, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Rinde Eckert, Robin Galloway, Ismenia Mendes, Rad Pereira, Reynaldo Piniella, Sophia Skiles, Simone Warren, Emily Greenwood, Drew Litchenberg
What: Virtual production of Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation and translation of Aeschylus’s trilogy and talks
Where: TFANA online
When: June 25, 7:00 through June 29, 7:00, free with RSVP
Why: In the spring of 2019, Ellen McLaughlin’s The Oresteia, an adaptation of Aeschylus’s trilogy of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, had its world premiere at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC. “The Oresteia are three of the oldest plays we have,” McLaughlin (Tongue of a Bird, Blood Moon) said at the time. “They show us Aeschylus grappling with the experiment of civilization — considering, with clear eyes, its weaknesses and its hopes. The Greeks had no illusions about the fragility of society and of democracy. They knew all too well that the whole undertaking was always at risk, threatened by forces both without and within.”
As part of its digital programming and its “Artists & Community” series, Brooklyn-based Theatre for a New Audience is presenting a virtual production of The Oresteia, streaming for free June 25-29. The 160-minute work, which delves into the nature of history, justice, and humanity, is directed by Andrew Watkins (The Yellow Wallpaper, Before You Go), who has been assistant or associate director on several TFANA shows (The Skin of Our Teeth, A Doll’s House), with original music by Kamala Sankaram (Looking at You, The Parksville Murders). The outstanding cast features Reynaldo Piniella as Orestes, Obi Abili as Agamemnon, Kelley Curran as Clytemnestra, Rinde Eckert as Chorus A and Watchman, Corey Allen as Chorus B, Sophia Skiles as Chorus C, Robin Galloway as Chorus D, Rad Pereira as Electra and Chorus E), Helen Carey as Nurse and Chorus F, Franchelle Stewart Dorn as Chorus G, Ismenia Mendes as Cassandra and Chorus H, Simone Warren as Iphigenia and Chorus I, and Kathleen Chalfant as the Narrator. Seven of the actors are reprising their roles from the STC world premiere. “We have to remember that these stories were as ancient to the Greeks as they are to us,” McLaughlin added. “They used these old stories to look at their own times and to assess their souls, the size of them, what they were capable of, and what they were up against. I believe that’s what artists do, and if you’re lucky, you do it with an extraordinary company like this one.” In addition to the stream, TFANA will host a pair of discussions, on June 26 at 4:00 moderated by Yale classics professor Emily Greenwood and on June 27 at 2:00 moderated by STC dramaturg Drew Litchenberg; you can register for the talks here.