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Greek Tragedy, Wine-Making and Politics Collide
A preview of Lascivious Something
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Next week Sheila Callaghan returns to Cherry Lane Theater, where in 2006 she received her mentorship in dramatic writing. Cherry Lane Theater and Women’s Project are co-producing Lascivious Something, the very play that Callaghan created will be given its world premiere (rather poetically) where it was conceived.
Taking Greek tragedy as its muse, Lascivious Something is set on a remote Greek island where a young American named August and his beautiful Greek bride have escaped. They plant a vineyard and everything is going quite romantically until the harvest ripens. On the eve of their first tasting of the wine, an old lover of August appears along with her turbulent and troubling past. The text is as fiercely political as it is emotional. The ripening of the harvest also coincides with the eve of Reagan’s inauguration and in this way the emotional and political stand for symbols of each other. The winemaking stands in as motif, metaphor and a theme in itself; it is an example of Callaghan’s skill that makes it work as a whole.
In the directorial hands of Daneilla Topol, who has also directed Callaghan’s Dead City, and with Rob Campbell, Elisabeth Waterston and Dana Eskelson in the lead roles, audiences will be treated to dynamic performances. This production will surely be as intellectually stimulating as it will be emotionally satisfying—a modern classic that pays due homage to its literary and historical past.