The Moorpark College Theatre Arts department is finished its final dress (or would that be undress?) rehearsals for its latest production, “Lysistrata,” which opens on March 19. The production will run until April 5 at the PAC.
Assistant Director Lauren Landa said that the ancient play is timeless.
“The play is modernized; that’s what makes it lots of fun,” she said. “It is interesting because it is a comedy, but educational at the same time. It is especially made for students who want to be educated and have fun at the same time. It’s two things in one package.”
MC Theatre Arts major Brooke Fiss plays Lysistrata, the title character in the production. Fiss said that the play has lots of sexual undertones, but also has many other features.
“It is funny, comical, and musical, with lots of deeper issues then entertainment.” Said Fiss, 20, who has two words to describe the play. “Girl power!”
The plot is what makes “Lysistrata” so unique. Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote the play in the fourth century B.C., and it tells the story of the women of Greece as they unite in the common cause to end the wars that have taken their husbands far from home. Led by Lysistrata, the women take an oath to withhold all sexual activity until the men stop the wars.
The women of Greece soon discover that a sex strike can be hard on everyone.
Hilarity ensues as the women, none too happy with the strike themselves, struggle to curb their own urges even as their husbands ask, demand and then beg for their marital rights.
A classical masterpiece, bursting with sexual hijinx, phallic props and slapstick comedy, Lysistrata packs a punch with a political and social satire that still rings true today, according to Director and Theatre Professor John Loprieno.
“We were very lucky to find a wonderful translation by Sarah Ruden of this classic play,” said Loprieno.
Loprieno said that those who believe that a play this old is outdated would be wrong.
“You’ll be surprised how many of his (Aristophanes’s) comments on sexual and governmental politics still hold up.”
However, this play is not for children, according to the cast, who leaned towards an equivalent of an NC-17 rating for the play.
Kyle Harris, 20, a Scythian Guard in the production, said that although the play is “really raunchy,” it has a strong underlining theme, and he is excited for it.
The play opens March 19 at 8 p.m. on the PAC Main Stage and will run on March 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28, as well as April 2, 3, and 4, at 8 p.m. Shows held on March 22, 29 and April 5 will be shown at 2 p.m.
Potential theatre-goers may visit the PAC website at moorparkcollege.edu/pac or call the box office at 805-378-1485 to obtain tickets or receive more information.
