Previews Begin Tonight For Eclipses Group Theater's HERCULES: IN SEARCH OF A HERO

Eclipses Group Theater New York presents the world premiere of Hercules: In Search of a Hero, conceived and directed by Ioanna Katsarou, translated by Demetri Bonaros, with original compositions by Costas Baltazanis. Hercules: In Search of a Hero will be performed at the Abrons Arts Center as part of the @Abrons Series program, from January 24 - February 10, 2019 in a limited engagement. The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street) in New York City. Previews begin tonight, January 24, for a January 26 opening.

Hercules: In Search of a Hero is a new theater piece combining excerpts from Euripides' plays Hercules and Alcestis, along with original material, to explore the meaning of heroism in our time. Hercules is a man of violence and death: he is heroic by killing. Alcestis stands out for an act of self-sacrifice: she is heroic by dying. Using poetic language and images, the play challenges the conventional, masculine notion of heroism and contemplates a feminine alternative.

The cast includes Luisa Alarcón (Lonely Leela at HERE), Demetri Bonaros (The Caucasian Chalk Circle at Theatre at 45 Bleecker), Luke Couzens (Macbeth at Stages on the Sound), Helena Farhi (what she found at Frigid Festival), Alexandra Skendrou (Carnegie Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium) and Taj Sood.

The production team includes Christos Alexandridis (Set Design), Christina Watanabe (Lighting Design), Marina Gkoumla (Costume Design), Alex Agisilaou (Video Design), Ioanna Katsarou (Dramaturge) and Anastasia Thanasoula (Production Stage Manager).

Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm with an added show on Sunday, January 27 at 6pm. Tickets are $25 and $20 (students and seniors). Purchase at http://www.AbronsArtsCenter.org or by calling 212-598-0400. The running time is 75 minutes. For more info visit https://www.egtny.com.

Eclipses Group Theater New York is a nonprofit theater company that serves as a cultural bridge between the United States and Greece. Using an exploratory, multidisciplinary approach, Eclipses presents Greek and non-Greek classical and modern plays in collaboration with artists of various ethnicities and cultures, developing an intercultural artistic dialogue. Eclipses has performed at Cherry Lane Theater, La MaMa, NYU, St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Hellenic National Museum in Chicago and elsewhere. Recent work has featured works by Aeschylus, Anton Chekhov, Euripides, Dario Fo and the contemporary Greek playwrights Dimitris Dimitriadis, Akis Dimou, Penny Fylaktaki, Yannis Mavristakis and Michalis Reppas/Thanasis Papathanasiou, among others.

Ioanna Katsarou (director, producer) is Eclipses' artistic director and founding member of Aktis Aeliou Theater, awarded Best Regional Theater in Greece by the Greek Critics Association. She's a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab 2017. Her selected acting credits include Clytemnestra (Classic Stage Company), Cassandra and Queen Atossa (La MaMa and St. Ambroise Festival Montreal) and Phaedra (European Delphi Festival). Ioanna has performed in more than 25 productions and directed more than 15 plays, including Farewell, which was named Best Poetic Monologue at the 2018 United Solo Festival.

Demetri Bonaros' (translator, actor, producer) theater credits include Agamemnon, Can't Pay, Won't Pay, Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew, the NYIT-nominated, best production, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (actor/producer/composer), and various plays, musicals and operas at Two River Theatre, Stonington Opera House, Queens Theatre, Cell Theatre and elsewhere. His film credits include Esther (winner, best short film-Athens, OH, International Film Festival), Vestibule and The Shuffle. http://www.demetribonaros.com

Costas Baltazanis (composer) studied jazz guitar performance and composition at Berklee College of Music. He has performed in the United States and many European countries and has played or recorded with Alex Foster, The Mingus Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, David Friedman, Jeff Tain Watts, James Genus, Mike Wolff, Kenwood Dennard, Omar Faruk Tekbilek and The Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra. Costas formed Iasis, a band performing his world fusion music compositions. He was Head Director at Nakas Conservatory and wrote Music Theory and Ear Training; Jazz Harmony; and Electric Guitar. https://costasbaltazanis.com

* Under the Auspices and strong support of the Consulate General of Greece in New York.

* Hercules: In Search of a Hero will be performed at the Abrons Arts Center as part of the @Abrons Series program, a subsidized rental program of Abrons Arts Center.

* This project was made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

* This project was made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Queens Council on the Arts.

* This project was funded by the Investors Foundation.

* This work was partially developed and performed in LPAC (Queens) through a generous space grant from LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.

The Abrons Arts Center is subway accessible by taking the F train to Delancey St. the J or M trains to Essex St., or the D or B trains to Grand St.

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