Mudlark Theater Co. opens Antigone at Next Theatre

Mudlark Theater Company concludes its 2011-2012 season with an original adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy ANTIGONE, opening Thursday, May 24, at Next Theatre.  Directed by Managing Director Michael Miro, the play is the final chapter in Sophocles’ tragic depiction of Oedipus’ family, and follows Artistic Director Andrew Biliter’s playful fairytale adaptation of THE LIGHT PRINCESS, which sold out its opening weekend at The Red Curtain Theater May 4-8.

ANTIGONE’s opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. will be followed by additional 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26.  A 6 p.m. performance on Sunday, May 27 completes the four-day run at Next Theatre, 927 Noyes St. in Evanston.  Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for children and students.  Tickets may be purchased at the door if seating is available, but advanced online purchase at www.mudlarktheater.org is recommended.

Miro, who directed Mudlark’s groundbreaking MUDPIE series last fall, says despite the age of its actors, audiences should not expect this production to tiptoe around the tragic elements of the story.  “In order to be true to the story, you can’t really shy away from the tragedy,” explains Miro, whose MUDPIE production brought the voices of Evanston school children to the stage.  “People do die. These deaths are a little stylized and suggestive, but it is ultimately a tragedy and we do have to be true to the genre.”

With 13-year-old Mudlark veteran, Zoria Kamholtz-Roberts, in the lead role of Antigone, the ensemble cast of 26 young performers also includes one adult actor, Chicagoan Michael Moran in the role of Antigone’s uncle, Creon.  “Having an adult in this role really accentuates the tension of the play,” Miro says.  “There is something so compelling about watching an adult face off with teenagers about the nature of law, justice, the role of the gods, and how we deal with death.”  Darcy Coussens, a theater major at Northwestern University, is assistant directing the show.  ANTIGONE is Mudlark’s first production at Next Theatre, a 145-seat space that has been located in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center since it was founded in 1981.