EUGENE–"Electra," the classic Greek tragedy but with a decidedly contemporary feel and relevance, will open on April 13 at the University Theatre at the University of Oregon.

The play, by the Greek playwright Sophocles, will continue April 14, 19—21 and 27—28 in the Robinson Theatre, 1109 Old Campus Lane. Curtain time for all performances is 8 p.m. Free parking is available nearby in the UO lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street.

In addition, a matinee performance benefiting Community Mediation Services will be held at
2 p.m. on Sunday, April 22. Tickets are $10 each for this special performance. To reserve tickets and for information, call Community Mediation Services, (541) 344-5366.

Although "Electra" made its first appearance more than 2,000 years ago, the play examines the role of revenge or punishment in a society supposedly based on law and justice–a divisive issue the world still struggles with today.

"The costumes, sets and props for this 2001 production locate the characters in a violent, post-apocalyptic world, and the lighting and original score cast an ominous tone over the proceedings," says Don LaPlant, a third-year doctoral degree candidate from Ithaca, N.Y., who directs this production. "Fuelled by apocalyptic events and design elements, the play runs with the brief uninterrupted force of a feature film."

"Electra" begins when Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and father of Electra and her brother Orestes, sacrifices their sister Iphigenia to appease the gods as he leads the Greek fleet to war with Troy. During his absence at war, his wife, Electra’s mother Clytemnestra, takes Aegisthus as a lover.

On Agamemnon’s victorious return from Troy, the lovers assassinate him. The infant Orestes was snatched to safety and sent into hiding.

Electra awaits her brother’s return to seek retribution for their father’s death. She is driven by a single, unassuageable desire–to avenge his assassination, even at the price of her mother’s life.

"Electra’s uncompromising insistence on vengeance and the imperative of honoring innocent dead divides her savagely from her sister Chrysothemis’ humane spirit of tolerance," according to noted director David Leveaux. "Their argument is a moral struggle that still resonates today."

Above all, Leveaux says, "the justice devoid of forgiveness" which Electra seeks may not be considered ‘just’ at all.

"In the anguished image of a family divided from itself," he adds, "the play’s moral landscape also lays before us the less ‘rational’ complexities and ambiguities that lie deep within the psyche and drive our actions–among daughters’ relationships to their fathers, sons’ to their mothers, mothers’ to daughters and their sons. These are also given voice and images of unforgettable power, to be checked against our own experience.

"Electra is not an obscure classic, a strange story of a distant time and place and people. It is, in every sense, our story," Leveaux says. "Perhaps we can say that a great play earns our enduring love because it is also a prophecy– a prophecy that has to be learned time and time again which is what connects Electra, weeping over Orestes’ ashes, to a place two millennia later."

"The audience should know this is not a period-style piece," director LaPlant says. "While we retain the translator’s original verse without contemporary updates or references, we have rearranged some scenes and redistributed some of the text among different characters.

"Purists and classicists beware: we have no traditional masks, no flowing white robes, no classical Greek columns and no flute accompaniment," LaPlant adds. "The designers, cast and director have been more inspired by such things as heavy metal and industrial music, modern dance, haute couture and action movies.

"We’re not trying to present a historically accurate re-creation of Sophocles’ original production in 415 b.c.," he says. "We’re trying to speak to today’s audiences."

Beyond its connections to contemporary audiences, La Plant says, the play is also noteworthy for its combination of thought-provoking dramatic literature, raw emotion, powerful roles for women and exciting opportunities for creative designers.

The production team assisting LaPlant in creating a bold, dynamic theatrical environment and experience for this drama includes assistant director and stage manager Gregory Thorson, a senior theater arts major from Medford; scenic designer Steen V. Mitchell, a master’s degree student in theater design from San Marino, Calif.; and technical director and lighting designer Janet Rose, a UO theater senior instructor.

Sound designer is Jonathan Christianson, a senior theater arts major from Cave Junction; assistant stage manager is Jeff Hawthorne, a junior theater arts major from Corvallis; costume designers are Joshua Pearson, a senior theater arts student from Boise, Idaho, and Beth Christensen, a

master’s degree student in theater design from Austin, Texas; and props manager is Tamara Hebbert, a senior theater arts major from Casper, Wyo.

The cast for "Electra" features Jocelyn Fultz, a junior theater arts major from Monmouth in the title role.

Other cast members include Eugene residents Clay Carter, a senior biology major, as Paedagogus, and Terese Magpale, a freshman theater arts major, as Chrysothemis; Tom Thorson, a junior humanities major from Portland, as Aegisthus; Brian Henderson, a senior philosophy major from Sacramento, Calif., as Orestes; and Darlene Espinoza Dadras, a senior theater arts and Romance languages major from Woodbridge, Va., as Clytemnestra.

The chorus for the production is composed of Sarah Linder, a sophomore theater arts major from Corvallis; Kathryn "Kat" Reese, a senior theater arts major from Eugene; Lindy Anderson, a senior English major from The Dalles; and Nicole Barrett, a junior theater arts and women’s studies major from Tigard.

Tickets for this show are $10 each for the general public; $8 for UO faculty and staff members, senior citizens and non-UO students; and $5 for UO students.

Tickets are available now on campus at the Ticket Office in the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Avenue, (541) 346-4363. New this year, tickets will be sold only on days of performances at the University Theatre Box Office in the lobby of Robinson Theatre at Villard Hall, 346-4191.

For more information, browse <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~theatre/> or call the University Theatre Development Office, 346-4190. A taped message about University Theatre productions and activities also is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2287.

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