Trinity Rep Announces Limited Engagement of AN ILIAD

Trinity Rep will run a limited-engagement of An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, based on Homer's The Iliad and translated by Robert Fagles. This classic tale features a skilled and compelling storyteller, and live music, who take the stage to tell a tale of how rage holds the human race. Directed by and featuring acting company member Brian McEleney, An Iliad runs February 6 February 10. There will be no press opening, but members of the press may make seat reservation requests for any regular performances. Tickets start at $25. More information can be found at www.trinityrep.com/iliad.

The journey with the great poet Homer that begins with the Trinity Rep production of black odyssey continues with this special theatrical event. A captivating lone storyteller recounts the familiar tales of gods and goddesses, wars and battles, and humanity's unshakeable attraction to violence, destruction, and chaos over the millennia.

Speaking on the character that he plays, and directs, Brian McEleney said, The Poet of An Iliad is a Homer-like figure who has been telling the story of the Trojan War for so long, for so many centuries and to so many cultures, in so many languages, that he's forgotten half of it. But he keeps at it, trying to convey the humor, the tragedy, the human interest, of a tale he loves. An Iliad connects us to the fundamental experience at the heart of theater -- an actor telling a story to an audience. That's all there is; that's all you need. The rest is decoration.

The Arthur P. Solomon and Sally E. Lapides Artistic Director, Curt Columbus, said, Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare want us to consider Homer's narrative of grinding, endless war in the context of all humanity and human history, by placing it in the mouth of one storyteller. Has humanity ever not been at war? What does it mean to turn this impossible question over in the presence of a live audience? What can we carry into the world after hearing the story of our flawed species? Perhaps this is what Homer wanted his audience to consider, almost three thousand years ago.

Playwright Lisa Peterson is a theater director who wrote and adapted An Iliad with actor Denis O'Hare, for which they won 2012 Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards. Playwright Denis O'Hare is an American actor noted for his award-winning performances in the plays Take Me Out and Sweet Charity, as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HBO's fantasy series True Blood.

Brian McEleney (director and The Poet) has been with Trinity Rep for over thirty-four seasons. As Trinity Rep's Resident Associate Director he has directed over 20 productions, including The Grapes of Wrath, House and Garden, Absurd Person Singular, The Crucible, Twelfth Night, All the King's Men, Our Town, and Hamlet. Favorite roles include King Lear, Richard II, Richard III, Malvolio, George (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Dr. Larch (The Cider House Rules), Prior Walter (Angels in America), and, in his first Trinity appearance, Mozart in Amadeus. He is a graduate of Trinity College and the Yale School of Drama. He serves as head of the Brown/Trinity MFA Acting program.

Brown/Trinity Rep MFA student Louis Reyes McWilliams '19 will compose and perform original music during the production.

Joining McEleney on the creative team are designers Amanda Downing Carney (costume design), Steve McLellan (lighting design), and Peter Sasha Hurowitz, (sound design).

An Iliad at Trinity Rep is sponsored by Cornish Associates. The 2018-19 Season Sponsors are Ocean State Job Lot and Rhode Island Council on the Arts. Southwest is the official airline of Trinity Rep.

Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.

Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally-stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for 41 years and made memories for over a million audience members.

The 2018-19 Season includes Pride & Prejudice by Kate Hamill, black odyssey by Marcus Gardley, a special limited-engagement of An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, The Song of Summer by Lauren Yee, Little Shop of Horrors with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, and Jos Rivera's Marisol.

For more information on the 2018-19 Season, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.TrinityRep.com.

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