Timothy J. Moore, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
The use of music in theater goes back to ancient Greece, and its popularity has grown to the modern-day productions of ‘Hamilton.’
In Montréal theatre company Scapegoat Carnivale’s literal translation and adaptation of the play, Oedipus (Marcel Jeannin) interrogates Teiresias (Leni Parker) as chorus leader (Mike Payette) looks on.
(Emilio Espinosa/Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre)
A classics scholar looks at Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony and says only a rare few are able to summon courage. For others, the drive to maintain power produces cowardice and willful blindness.
President-elect Joe Biden waves as he departs St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church, Nov. 15, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In the drama of envisioning a future for the United States, Joe Biden and Donald Trump both invoked stories about snakes to suggest different views about self-interest and the common good.
Donald Trump’s helicopter landing at the White House, Oct. 5, as he returns from being hospitalized at Walter Reed.
Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images
A classics scholar and poet turns to Greek mythology, especially the story of Oedipus the King, to explain the drama – or perhaps tragedy – that is taking place in the highest office in the land.
Heroes and heroines of Classical Greek tragedy used to get all the glory. Today scholars, and theatre and film directors are looking to what the minor players can tell us about the zeitgeist.
A scene from playwright Roy Williams’ modern adaptation of Antigone for the Pilot Theatre.
Flickr/Robert Day photo
A play written in the fifth century B.C. mirrors America’s current disunion: Political and moral views are framed in terms of a fight between patriot and traitor, law and conscience, and chaos and order.
Greek tragedy remains the most modern form of drama, unafraid to question everything we value.
Sarah Walker. Photo: Jane Montgomery Griffiths as The Leader and Aaron Orzech as Haemon.
Regardless of reasoning and the plethora of scholarship that exists, Greek tragedy remains the most modern form of drama. It is unafraid to question everything we value.