Lincoln Center
Theater presents The Frogs, a musical adaptation
of the Aristophanes comedy written in 405
B.C., freely adapted by Burt Shevelove,
now even more freely adapted by Nathan Lane,
with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim,
and direction and choreography by Susan
Stroman.
In The Frogs, the Greek god Dionysos (Nathan
Lane) is troubled by the world's ills. He
embarks on a perilous and frog-infested
journey to Hades with his slave Xanthias
(Chris Kattan) to bring back an extraordinary
writer who, by providing words of wit and
wisdom, will help save mankind from self-destruction.
The cast of 28 also features John Byner,
Peter Bartlett, Daniel Davis, Burke Moses
and Michael Siberry.
Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove's adaptation
of Aristophanes' The Frogs premiered in
1974 featuring students of the Yale Drama
School in a university swimming pool. That
cast included newcomers Christopher Durang,
Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver, among
others. The ancient play focuses on a debate
between Aeschylus and Euripides, to determine
who the greater artist is. The winner of
the contest returned to Earth with Dionysus
to save civilization.
|
