Medea, the Musical

Last updated
Medea, the Musical
Written byJohn Fisher
Date premiered1994
Subject LGBT culture
Greek mythology
Play within a play
Genre Musical comedy

Medea, the Musical is a 1994 musical comedy by American playwright John Fisher. The play, a farce, concerns a theater director's attempt to recast Medea , the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, as a serious modern commentary on LGBT culture, which goes humorously wrong when the director's cast and crew refuse to conform to the stereotyped roles he has created for them. The play became a long-running "cult favorite" in San Francisco in the mid 1990s before touring regionally. [1] Not to be confused with Medea The Musical written by English actress and playwright Hayley Canham which premiered in Cambridge in 2022. [2]

Contents

Characters

Plot

The Auteur is rehearsing a production of the ancient Greek tragedy Medea, for the "Euripides festival". [5] He has set the play as a serious commentary on contemporary gay issues.

Things start to go wrong when Paul (playing Jason, the hero of Medea), who has not been attracted to women since kindergarten, falls in love with leading lady Elsa (playing Medea, Jason's lover), a straight feminist. [6] The two, disappointed with what they consider a sexist portrayal of Medea as a muse and victim of Jason's ambitions in both the original and the Auteur's retelling, conspire to rewrite the play to promote a feminist agenda. This upsets the Auteur, who is hostile to feminism, [6] and "grosses out" the rest of the cast, each of whom has their own reason for resenting the pair's unlikely off-stage relationship. [3]

On opening night the play falls completely apart, as the cast members revolt against the Auteur's direction. A theater critic from Time Magazine gives the play a glowing review, believing that the chaos was intentional. However, the audience of the play (as attributed by the actors to the real-life theater audience), knows that the play is a failure, both in performance and in its failure to present a coherent commentary on gay issues. [6]

Production history

Conception

John Fisher came out as gay at age 23, shortly after graduating with a drama degree from Berkeley. He returned for graduate school, where he wrote and directed plays while studying to be an academic scholar of theater. Dissatisfied with the plays of the time, which he felt depicted gays as unhappy, conflicted, and tragic, he decided to write plays that portrayed gays unapologetically. [7]

Most of Fisher's work is gay-themed and includes a historically-based plot (often a retelling of an iconic tragic play or event), a large ensemble cast, an academic thesis as a sub-plot or theme, and elements of comedy, music, and farce. Before Medea, the Musical he wrote and directed Mary! (a musical take on Mary Stuart ), Oresteia: The Musical, Cleopatra: the Musical, and Napoleon: The Camp-Drag-Disco-Musical Extravaganza (in which upon discovering that Joséphine de Beauharnais is actually a man, Napoleon decides he is gay and liberates Europe so that all gays can be free). Medea is (as of now) his most successful work. [7]

Productions

The play was originally produced at UC Berkeley in 1994, when Fisher was a graduate student there, with a mostly volunteer cast of Fisher's school friends. [8] It later moved to San Francisco, where it ran for fifteen months with the same cast members at a succession of ever-larger theaters. [3] Most of the play's run was at the 565-seat Stage Door Theater, [7] [8] which later became the Ruby Skye nightclub.

The play was later produced in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington in 2000. [9]

The play was widely expected to open on Broadway, but plans did not materialize. Fisher and others attribute the lack of interest to the play's being "too gay". [7] Although many gay-themed plays did well on Broadway at the time, all of them (according to Fisher and commentators) allowed straight audience members and conservative gays to keep some distance from the gay themes. [7]

In 2005 there was a revival production at Theater Rhinoceros in San Francisco. [3]

Reception

The play was a surprise hit. Originally scheduled for a limited run the original production played fifteen months in San Francisco. [10]

Critics generally (and approvingly) describe the play as self-consciously silly, campy, and "corny". [3] The music was praised as "horrid" and "so absurdly bad it's funny". [4] For example, the main characters fall in love while singing a duet from the musical, Oklahoma! , that the Auteur in his questionable esthetic judgment had decided to insert into the ancient tragedy. [3] The play also features the actors singing versions of disco classics "I Will Survive" and "Y.M.C.A." with lyrics rewritten to reflect the play's plot elements, as well as Phaedra's courting her stepson Hippolytus to the tune of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana". [4] One dance number evokes the choreography of Michael Jackson's video "Thriller". [4]

Other critics describe the play as intelligent and profound, noting how most of the jokes and plot lines in the play draw parallels between modern sexual politics and Euripides' themes from the Greek version. For example, the straight Elsa seducing Paul away from his gay life mirrors the barbarian Medea seducing Jason from Greek civilization. [4] Some note that the play spoofs itself, in a "so bad it's good" sort of way, lampooning amateur college productions (for example, the common custom of writing new lyrics for borrowed popular pop tunes) and the foibles of the cast, crew, reviewers, and audience who participate. [1] [8] More recent critics describe the play in retrospect as "dated", [9] in part because of period-references to the 1970s, but also because gay farces and self-referential plays about plays became far more common in mainstream entertainment in the years after Medea's original production.

Awards

The play won six Critics Circle Awards (including Best Musical), the Will Glickman Play Writing Award, the BackstageWest Garland Award, the GLAAD Media Award, the Cable Car Award and the LA Weekly Award for "Best Musical".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euripides</span> 5th-century BC Athenian playwright

Euripides was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete. There are many fragments of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theseus</span> Legendary king of Athens

Theseus was a divine hero and the founder of Athens from Greek mythology. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medea</span> Daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Medea is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, appearing in Hesiod's Theogony around 700 BCE, but is best known from Euripides's tragedy Medea and Apollonius of Rhodes's epic Argonautica. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, but also as a witch, and is often depicted as a priestess of the goddess Hecate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Racine</span> 17th-century French dramatist (1639–1699)

Jean-Baptiste Racine was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradition and world literature. Racine was primarily a tragedian, producing such "examples of neoclassical perfection" as Phèdre, Andromaque, and Athalie. He did write one comedy, Les Plaideurs, and a muted tragedy, Esther for the young.

<i>Deus ex machina</i> Contrived device to resolve the plot of a dramatic work

Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is generally to resolve an otherwise irresolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending or act as a comedic device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climax (narrative)</span> Point of highest tension in narrative

The climax or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension and drama, or it is the time when the action starts during which the solution is given. The climax of a story is a literary element.

Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides. It is based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and was first produced in 431 BC as part of a trilogy; the two other plays have not survived. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering his new wife as well as her own two sons, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.

Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.

<i>Phèdre</i> 1677 tragedy by Racine

Phèdre is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris.

Desire Under the Elms is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like Mourning Becomes Electra, Desire Under the Elms signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. It was inspired by the myth of Phaedra, Hippolytus, and Theseus. A film version was produced in 1958, and there is an operatic setting by Edward Thomas.

<i>Falsettos</i> 1992 musical by William Finn and James Lapine

Falsettos is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of March of the Falsettos (1981) and Falsettoland (1990), the last two installments in a trio of one-act musicals that premiered off-Broadway. The story centers on Marvin, who has left his wife to be with a male lover, Whizzer, and struggles to keep his family together. Much of the first act explores the impact his relationship with Whizzer has had on his family. The second act explores family dynamics that evolve as he and his ex-wife plan his son's bar mitzvah. Central to the musical are the themes of Jewish identity, gender roles, and gay life in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It also deals with the topic of the AIDS epidemic.

Theatre Rhinoceros, Theatre Rhino, or The Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. Theatre Rhinoceros is the world's longest-running professional queer theatre company. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet and his late partner Allan B. Estes, Jr.. The company name was based on the "Lavender Rhino," a media device popularized by the Boston gay community in the mid-70s. It was chosen as a mascot and symbol of the community because it is a mild and peace-loving creature until provoked. It is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the production of plays by and about gay and lesbian people.

<i>Phaedra</i> (Seneca) Tragedy by Seneca the Younger

Phaedra is a Roman tragedy written by philosopher and dramatist Lucius Annaeus Seneca before 54 A.D. Its 1,280 lines of verse tell the story of Phaedra, wife of King Theseus of Athens and her consuming lust for her stepson Hippolytus. Based on Greek mythology and the tragedy Hippolytus by Euripides, Seneca's Phaedra is one of several artistic explorations of this tragic story. Seneca portrays Phaedra as self-aware and direct in the pursuit of her stepson, while in other treatments of the myth, she is more of a passive victim of fate. This Phaedra takes on the scheming nature and the cynicism often assigned to the nurse character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Dow</span> Canadian actor and director

Bill Dow is an actor, director and writer in theatre, film, and television. He is best known for playing Bill Lee in the Stargate franchise.

The representation of women in Athenian tragedy was performed exclusively by men and it is likely that it was performed solely for men as well. The question whether or not women were admitted at theatre is widely contested and tends to polarise fronts. Even though Henderson excludes women from all public poetry: “drama, like all public poetry in the classical period, was written, produced and performed only by men, and the dramatic festivals were organized and controlled by the demos, the sovereign corporation of adult male citizens”, he does not rule out female spectators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne McDonald</span> American philanthropist and scholar (born 1937)

Marianne McDonald is a scholar and philanthropist. Marianne is involved in the interpretation, sharing, compilation, and preservation of Greek and Irish texts, plays and writings. Recognized as a historian on the classics, she has received numerous awards and accolades because of her works and philanthropy. As a playwright, she has authored numerous modern works, based on ancient Greek dramas in modern times. As a teacher and mentor, she is highly sought after for her knowledge of and application of the classic themes and premises of life in modern times. In 2013, she was awarded the Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Classics, Department of Theatre, Classics Program, University of California, San Diego. In 1994, she was inducted into the Royal Irish Academy, being recognized for her expertise and academic excellence in Irish language history, interpretation and the preservation of ancient Irish texts. As a philanthropist, Marianne partnered with Sharp to enhance access to drug and alcohol treatment programs by making a $3 million pledge — the largest gift to benefit behavioral health services in Sharp’s history. Her donation led to the creation of the McDonald Center at Sharp HealthCare. Additionally, to recognize her generosity, Sharp Vista Pacifica Hospital was renamed Sharp McDonald Center.

<i>Medea</i> (Seneca) Roman tragic play

Medea is a fabula crepidata of about 1027 lines of verse written by Seneca the Younger. It is generally considered to be the strongest of his earlier plays. It was written around 50 CE. The play is about the vengeance of Medea against her betraying husband Jason and King Creon. The leading role, Medea, delivers over half of the play's lines. Medea addresses many themes, one being that the title character represents "payment" for humans' transgression of natural laws. She was sent by the gods to punish Jason for his sins. Another theme is her powerful voice that cannot be silenced, not even by King Creon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Classical Drama Society</span>

The Oxford University Classical Drama Society (OUCDS) is the funding body behind the triennial Oxford Greek Play, an institution that has lasted for over 130 years.

Tragic themes are ever-present in the world of ancient epic. Ancient tragedians often focused on ideas such as mythology, love, passion and violence in their works and these are clearly reflected in epic, especially in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Tragic themes do not simply refer to subject matter however and can also be used in reference to the format of the writing, such as utilizing dramatic monologues, or soliloquies, metatheatre, and emphasizing time and place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Medea</span>

The dramatic episodes in which Greek mythology character Medea plays a role have ensured that she remains vividly represented in popular culture.

References

  1. 1 2 Philip Brandes (1999-07-02). "A 'Medea' With a Lot of Camp". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ↑ "Interview: Medea The Musical". The Cambridge Student. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sandra Ross (1999-07-22). "The Fisher King of Camp:Medea: The Musical and the scholar-clown who created it". LA Weekly.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Laura Jamison (1995-07-19). "Comparing Notes". San Francisco Weekly. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  5. ↑ Robert Hurwitt (2005-06-07). "Get out the disco lights -- 'Medea' is back, baby". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. 1 2 3 Charles Mudede (2000-06-22). "Theater Review Revue: Gay, Gay, Gay!". The Stranger.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Mari Coates. "Bold! Outrageous! Funny! And totally unapologetic; John Fisher, Rhino Theater's artistic director and creator of the hit show, Medea: The Musical, is headed for the big time". California Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  8. 1 2 3 David Littlejohn (1996-12-12). "John Fisher:The Drama of Gender". Wall Street Journal.
  9. 1 2 Richard Connema. "Medea: The Musical is a Wacky Production on Adrenaline". Talking Broadway.
  10. ↑ "Medea the Musical". SF Station. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.