Don’t let that whole great Homeric epic thing fool you: the Odyssey ’s got everything from gratuitous infidelity to gratuitous violence. The story of the Odyssey immediately follows the fall of Troy (as documented in Homer’s Iliad . Or, you might better know as that one Brad Pitt movie where he’s shirtless, armor-clad and angry). Our Greek hero Odysseus is on his ten-year journey back home to Ithaca and he encounters all sorts of impediments along the way: witch goddesses, beautiful women, vendettas, drugs, whirlpools, athletic feats, pirates, mistaken identity, storms and even a Cyclops. And when Odysseus finally does reach home, he has to deal with the entire male populace of Ithaca chasing after his wife.
It’s wonderful, bloody and violent—and considered to be one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. But catching this family-friendly stage production of the Odyssey has got to be like watching The Godfather on network television—what horse head? And did Sonny really just say “puck you”?
Sat., Feb. 21, 1:30 p.m., 2009
