The Meadow Brook Theatre
Established in 1967, the Meadow Brook Theatre is situated on Oakland University’s campus and has been presenting internationally acclaimed productions for over four decades. The theater’s repertory consists of presentations namely A Christmas Carol, Harris Cashes Out!, the Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays, Falling, Sherlock Holmes, the Miser, the Rose Tattoo, Foxfire, Deathtrap, Barefoot in the Park, the Gin Game, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Three Musketeers.
The inaugural season of the Meadow Brook Theatre brought to life compositions by Bertolt Brecht, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Jean Anouilh and Anton Chekhov. Among these shows were the Caucasian Chalk Circle, Love’s Labor’s Lost, You Never Can Tell, the Waltz of the Toreadors and the Three Sisters. This time Michigan’s largest non-profit professional performing arts company is recreating Aristophanes’ version of Lysistrata. Become witness to the spectacular comedy that will leave audiences rolling in their seats.
Compositional History & Initial Screenings
Lysistrata Jones is a musical comedy that has been adapted from Athens playwright’s Aristophanes’ version Lysistrata that he composed back in 411 BCE. The comic playwright who was born back in 446 BCE was active from 427 BCE till 386 BCE. Throughout his career, the popular composer created works that have been performed since centuries now. These include the Acharnians, the Knights, the Clouds, the Wasps, Peace, the Birds, the Frogs and Wealth II.
The upcoming Lysistrata Jones is also taking material from Douglas Carter Beane’s book of the same name. The score for the musical is by Lewis Flinn. The debut production of the show was first presented by the Transport Group Theatre Company in 2011. The show was an off-Broadway production and presentations took place at the Judson Gymnasium located in Greenwich Village. After the closure of the off-Broadway shows, the debut Broadway premier was presented at the Walter Kerr Theatre on the 14th of December, 2011. With choreography and direction by Dan Knechtges, costumes for the Broadway shows were made by David C. Woolard, while lighting was by Michael Gottlieb. Closing on the 8th January, the debut showcase held 30 regular performances.
Original Cast & Music
The original cast for the show consisted of actors Patti Murin playing the lead role of Lysistrata Jones, Liz Mikel performing as Hetaira, Josh Segarra acting as Mick, Jason Tam as Xander, Lindsay Nicole playing Robin, Alexander Aguilar performing as Tyllis. Actors playing secondary roles in the musical included Katie Boren, Kat Nejat, LaQuet Sharnell, Teddy Toye and Alex Wyse. The two act comic musical presents a total of fourteen songs some of which include “Right Now”, “Just Once”, “Change the World”, “Lay Low”, “Where Am I Now”, Writing on the Wall”, “Hold On”, “Don’t Judge a Book” and “Give It Up.”
Lysistrata Jones’ Synopsis
The story of the musical presents the men’s basketball team from the Athens University that hasn’t won a single game in thirty years. In the first scene a spunky young girl named Lysistrata Jones, transfers to the university and joins the cheerleading squad. She then dares the girls of the squad to stop being sexually involved with the basketball team until they win a game, in hopes of motivating the men. Watch this modernized version of Aristophanes’ comic Greek version where a similar strategy is adopted by the women of Greece in hopes of persuading their lovers and husbands to negotiate peace during the Peloponnesian War. Watching university students abstain for the greater good is bound to bring fits of laughter.