Scorned by the father of her children who has denounced her and is marrying another woman, Medea concocts a terrible revenge in an innovative infusion of Euripides’ Greek tragedy with excerpts from Luigi Cherubini’s eponymous opera, exemplifying the company’s signature blend of classic opera with classic plays. Artistic Director Eilin O’Dea directs a cast of 12, including O’Dea as Medea, with Alessandro Caronna, Kat Collins, Kara Gordon, Kenny Harmon, Rina Haruki, Nicole LeBlanc, Maureen O’Boyle, Alexa Rabago, Patricio Rabago, and Ruth Rooney, with additional casting to be announced soon.
“Music intensifies and elucidates the drama by extending an emotion or a moment, allowing for sharp contrasts, and heightening the subtext,” says Fusion Co-Founder Paul Gerrit Groen. “By integrating a classical operatic Medea into the classic Greek tragedy, we bring the world from which Medea is now excluded right to her doorstep, and audiences can experience multiple, augmented levels of conflict, love and regret simultaneously, and from various points of view.”
Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
The runtime is two hours, which includes one 15-minute intermission.
General admission tickets are $35.88. For tickets, visit FusionTheatreNYC. Direct ticketing link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/798795939157?aff=oddtdtcreator
Music Director: Areti Giovanou; Set Designer: Dahlia Barakat; Lighting Designer: Daniel Weissglass; Costume Designer: Anne Zelanko; Assistant Stage Managers: Lila Goldstein, Connor Ausman, and Isadora Audra.
“Combining Euripides’ commanding classic tragedy with excerpts from Cherubini’s extraordinary opera will be the pinnacle of our unique and powerful theatrical productions to date,” said Artistic Director Eilin O’Dea. “Fusion Theatre is unique in the United States, drawing upon a small and talented group of classical actors who are also opera singers to blend these two greatest of art forms for an enduring theatrical experience.”
Fusion Theatre was established in 2016 by Eilin O’Dea and Paul Gerrit Groen with the mission of blending classical theatre with classical music for the ultimate theatrical experience, and the belief that the spoken word is always enhanced by music, reaching audience members at an intense and visceral level beyond the text. To date, Fusion Theatre has engaged a growing and dedicated audience with its productions of Antigone (Jean Anouilh) No Exit (Jean-Paul Sartre), The Dead (James Joyce), and a virtual reading of Death & the Maiden with Emmy Award-winning actor John Shea as Dr. Miranda. Their work to date has received critical acclaim for its innovative and bold staging of classical works and high caliber performances.
