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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Nov. 14, 2008) — Tickets are on sale now for Milligan College’s theatre production of Jason Pizzarello’s humorous spoof of Greek tragedies, “Saving the Greeks: One Tragedy at a Time.” The show will run Nov. 20-22 at Milligan’s new Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts.
“Saving the Greeks” recounts an ambitious plan to bring peace to Ancient Greece. Characters Dialysis and Peon create “Betterland,” a city where once-doomed tragic characters can start a better life. This new society of refugees must face enemies and gods who do not tolerate free will or utopian ideals. Weaving together the stories of Ancient Greek characters from Oedipus to Hercules, this hilarious reinvention of the classics asks the question, “Is it possible to escape your own fate?”
Critic Sean Michael O’Donnell of Off-Off-Online describes the production as “a thoroughly enjoyable script filled with droll witticisms, amusing one-liners, and groaning wordplay…a breezy comedy full of laugh-out-loud merriment that pays homage to the melodramatic absurdity that is Greek tragedy.”
Serving as director for the production is Pamela Adolphi. Adolphi, who joined Milligan’s theatre department as t echnical director and scenic and lighting designer earlier this fall, holds both b achelor’s and master’s degrees from East Tennessee State University. While attending ETSU, she was involved in a number of productions, functioning in various capacities — director, lighting designer and scenic designer. As a graduate student, she was awarded the Outstanding Creative Achievement Award twice from the college’s Department of Communications. Her professional credits include directing “Godspell” and serving as the lighting designer for “The Tempest.” Additionally, she served as the master carpenter and properties mistress for Shakespeare and Friends in the Park Renaissance Faire. In addition to her positions at Milligan, she also serves as a member of the adjunct faculty at ETSU and Walters State Community College.
Assisting Adolphi is Milligan alumnus Dennis Wyatt, who is well known regionally for his theatrical accomplishments. Wyatt originally worked with Milligan’s theatre department for several years beginning in the mid-1980s. During that time, he also taught English and drama at Elizabethton High School, managed the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, wrote the book “The Bald Man and the Sea,” and appeared in the Disney cable movie “Goodbye Miss Fourth of July.” His list of theatrical credits include the Olde West Dinner Theatre, the Barn Dinner Theatre in Nashville, Murry’s Dinner Playhouse in Little Rock, Ark., the Road Company, the Johnson City Community Theatre, the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre, the ETSU Theatre and “The Cross and the Sword” outdoor drama.
Members of the cast include Katy Aigner of Ferrum, Va.; Daniel Banks of Elizabethton; Grant Carpenter of Hilliard, Ohio; Bri Curtis and Melanie Richards, both of Knoxville, Tenn.; Alison Emmert of Lizton, Ind.; Sabrina Graham of Piney Flats; Sarah Elizabeth Green of Bristol, Va.; Hannah Hughes of Bluff City; B.J. Krug of Milligan College; Dan Ott of Wooster, Ohio; Katie Purchase of Vera Beach, Fla.; Matt Roberts of Johnson City; and Jessica Saltzman of McDonough, Ga.
“Pizzarello gives the Greek Tragedies a whole new flavor of comedy and parody, baked in a witty crust with a bit of pun on the side for taste,” said Roberts, who plays the part of Dialysis.
All tickets for each of the 7:30 p.m. performances are $10 and can be purchased in advance at the Milligan College Bookstore, 423.461.8733, or at the door each night of the performance. Seating is limited.
For more information, contact Debbie Harbin at 423.461.8683, or visit www.milligan.edu.