This New Musical Is Inspiring Kids To Save The Planet!

The American Theatre of Actors (ATA) latest production, The Man Who Found Troy, is a fascinating look at the story of Henry Schliemann, who discovered the ancient city of Troy shortly before the turn of the century. The play, written by award-winning, New York playwright, Joe Krawczyk is directed by Eddie Lew, and features Chelsea Clark as Sophia Schliemann, Johnny Blaze Leavitt as Henry Schliemann, Stephen Goodin as Frank Calvert. This cast of 3 also takes turns playing other characters in history, as the "epic journey" takes place over a 20 year period.

Mr. Krawczyk, who had travelled to Greece on several ocassions came across this true story at the famed Numismatic Museum in Athens, one of the most important museums of Greece. It houses one of the greatest collections of coins, ancient and modern, in the world. Remarkably, the museum itself is housed in the mansion of archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, and in Germany, there is a museum named for Mr. Schliemann. Still, few people know about him. This surprised and inspired Mr. Krawzcyk to write the play.

Based on a true story, Henry Schliemann, a wealthy entrepreneur, embarks on a rocky, twenty-year, epic journey to discover the ancient city of Troy. He uses Homer's Iliad as his guide and inspiration. But first, he marries Sophia Engastromenos, a Greek girl with a love for Homer. In his eyes, she is his Helen of Troy as he educates her to become an elite member of Parisian society. Their age difference, he's forty seven and she's seventeen, is a gulf he cannot bridge. Nevertheless, she becomes an equal partner. Overcoming skeptics, cynics, and scholars of ancient antiquities, he pours all his efforts and accumulated wealth into the quest. With the assistance of his undervalued partner, Frank Calvert knows the likely spot and points Schliemann on the right path. Schliemann, a Trump-like showman, and Calvert, an academic, clash throughout their involvement together on the best means to uncover the ancient city. Throughout their quest, significant figures from The Iliad appear - Achilles, Hector, Menelaus, King Priam and Helen herself - as ghosts that haunt and guide the three main characters as they pursue their search for the walls of Troy.

The play opens tonight, and runs until April 29th at the John Cullum Theater, American Theatre of Actors (ATA), 314 West 54th Street (2nd Floor) New York, NY 10019.

All Tickets $20 ~ General Admission...Order tickets @ at Smarttix: https://bit.ly/2q0lcK6. Cash at the door and also on TDF.

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