Cyclops: A Rock Opera
It’s not often that a press release crosses our desk using the phrase “face melting.” But it did. And readers, we are pretty psyched to see “CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera” over at the Alabama Shakespeare Theater this Saturday night. We are also proud to have exclusive video footage of the rehearsal featuring local performers. But first, the details: After extending twice in Los Angeles, and a sold-out run at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Psittacus Productions brings its critically acclaimed show “CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera” to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama.
The one night only performance will be in the Octagon on May 19 at 11 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for only $25 at http://www.cyclopsrocks.com or by calling the ASF box office at 1-800-841-4273.
Based on Euripides’ play of the same name, CYCLOPS tells the story of the warrior Odysseus, who is trying to return home from the Trojan War, but lands on Mount Aetna by mistake. There he meets a group of wild Satyrs – half man, half goat, and members of a rock band – who have been enslaved by Polyphemus, the Cyclops. The Satyrs sing of their sorrow, and enlist Odysseus’ help in escaping. But not before the Cyclops himself – think Freddy Mercury crossed with Frank N Furter – complicates things. The play contains mature themes and adult language. It is recommended for audiences 17 and up.
The video below contains footage exclusive to MML. This was shot the first time that the local performers for the show got together to play through the songs. The song is “Wine Conquers All,” an anthem to “the fruit of the vine” performed by the Cyclops’ captive Satyr band. The video features Stephen Poff on guitar, Jacob Sullivan on bass, Joseph Melancon on drums and Louis Butelli on vocals. Candace Scholz and Laura Bozonne play the dancing sirens.
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LA’s Bitter Lemons called CYCLOPS “a proud cousin to Hedwig and Rocky Horror.” Co-written by Jayson Landon Marcus, Benjamin Sherman, and Psittacus Productions co-founders Louis Butelli and Chas LiBretto, CYCLOPS won the New York Musical Theatre Festival Award for Excellence for Outstanding Individual Performance and was nominated for no less than a Pulitzer Prize.
The company will include Psittacus company members Louis Butelli, Chas LiBretto, Jayson Landon Marcus and Benjamin Sherman. The band will be completed with local artists Stephen Poff on guitar, Jacob Sullivan on bass, and Joseph Melancon of Dothan, Alabama on drums. Butelli is currently featured in the ASF Repertory Company in The 39 Steps, Henry VIII and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
CYCLOPS is the unofficial musical offering at the 2012 Southern Writers’ Project Festival of New Plays at ASF May 18-20. Watch a trailer here.
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is among the largest Shakespeare theatres in the world. Designated as The State Theatre of Alabama, ASF has been located in Montgomery since 1985 when it moved from Anniston as a result of Mr. and Mrs. Wynton M. Blount’s gift of a performing arts complex set in the 250-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park. This program/project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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