The Mississippi University for Women department of theatre presents: “Lysistrata.” The play will run at 7:30 p.m. in Cromwell Auditorium on MUW’s campus until Saturday.
The play, translated by Nicholas Rudall, is a comedy by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. After years of war between city-states, the cost of the lives of sons and husbands continues to grow. Now, the women of Greece have come together to create peace even if it means taking extreme measures.
Lee Crouse, director of the play, said he enjoyed working with each crew member. Each time he directs a play, his cast has a great impact on him.
“One of the greatest aspects of any university production is watching the creative work of young artists. I enjoy watching how text on a page becomes action. For ‘Lysistrata,’ that joy has come in exploring the genre of Greek comedy, creating the physical comedy moments and paralleling a play written centuries ago with today’s society,” he said. “This company of actors and technicians has labored for weeks to create a meaningful story.”
Ariel Holmes, freshman at MUW and a lead role in the play, said she is really excited to show the public the product of the cast’s hard work, and she enjoyed meeting all the people she got the opportunity to work with.
“My favorite part was getting to know all of the people in the production,” she said. “I was able to make some great friends because of this play.”
Holmes was also able to gain some great traits she said she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
“The play made me concentrate on time management because I had rehearsals just about every day, and I had to do homework and go to class on top of learning lines and attending rehearsals,” she said.
Holmes holds two roles in the play, “Woman Number 4” and “Reconciliation.” Her “Woman Number 4” character is responsible for taking part in a group protest, and “Reconciliation” is a scantily clad woman that the Athenians and Spartans use as a map to agree about territories.
The cast will also include Karen Thead, Saudai Jackson, Allison Jones, Leah Thompson, Katie Welch, Candice Monteith, Quishanta Cummings, Gabrielle Lestrade, Caryann Odom, Olivia Stevens, Marissa Vaughn, Johnathan Best, Graham Young, Gavin Mendus, Chris Ambrose, Kevin Barkman, Ray Sizemore and Devan Tate.
Sara Hardin, freshman nursing major at MSU, said the play will be full of excitement. She said she loves visiting MUW’s campus, and each time she attends an event it grows on her a little more.
“Even though I’m only going to the play to support a friend, I know it will be something great to watch. I have watched her work hard each and every day since she got her role, and I know she will not disappoint,” she said.
