To kick off the 2015-2016 season, Theatre Wesleyan will be producing Metamorphoses.
Directed by Theatre Department Chair Bryan Stevenson, Metamorphoses is an adaptation of Ovid’s myths, according to a department press release.
It’s also staged in a three-foot-deep swimming pool.
“This is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to build,” junior theater major Eric Nunez said.
Stage manager Tyler Guse said the PG-rated show brings back a little “throwback Thursday Greek” feeling to this season’s roster.
“It brings a contemporary Greek twist so younger audiences and college students can understand more in depth about the show,” Guse said.
The cast includes seniors Cameron Byerly and Crystal Salazar; junior Giselle Saucedo; sophomores Michelle Phillips, Clarissa Murillo, and Logan Rodgers; and freshmen Katie Collard, Gabe Crowley, Kevin Dawson, and Tobin Griffin.
Mary Zimmerman wrote and directed an early version of the play, Six Myths, in 1996 at Northwestern University, where she teaches, according to a 2013 article in The Washington Post.
In 1998 it was produced at the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, and in 2002 it went to Broadway.
“Everything that was written in the original play is what’s being produced,” Guse said.
Metamorphoses was nominated for several Tony Awards in 2002, including Best Play and Best Scenic Design for a play or musical. Zimmerman won the 2002 Tony for Best Direction (Play), according to tonyawards.com.
Guse said that the show is very contemporary and imaginative.
“The show is really tech heavy so I’m excited to see how the technical side of things brings the show to life,” he said. “The lights and pool are going to be really cool.”
Metamorphoses runs Sept. 24-26 and Oct. 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Oct. 4. Tickets are $5 for students with ID, faculty, staff and senior citizens.
General admission tickets are $10. Tickets can be reserved by call (817) 531-4211. All performances are at the Thad Smotherman Theatre, which is on the campus at the corner of Avenue E and Binkley Street.
The Rambler incorrectly reported the classification of two members of the cast of Metamorphoses in its Sept. 16 issue.
Crystal Salazar is a sophomore and Logan Rodgers is a senior.
The Rambler regrets the error.