Section B · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, October 4, 2000
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Theater brings Greek tragedy to America
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — The story may be ancient, but the production is modern. And for the New York audience seeing it this month, the performance will be all Greek to most of them. That's exactly the point.
After awakening Rome's dormant Colosseum from a 1,500-year nap with three performances in July, the Greek National Theater is bringing "Oedipus Rex" to New York today for six shows.
Ancient playwright Sophocles' tale of Oedipus, the tragic hero who kills his father and marries his mother, is the theater's third production in the United States in the last four years.
Performances are conducted in contemporary Greek because even for a native speaker, ancient Greek is something of a foreign language, said artistic director Nikos Kourkoulos.
But for an audience that doesn't understand the language, Greek would be just Greek if translations in the native language of each country were not projected.
"The audience can read what the actors are saying and watch the sentiment out of which everything they are seeing is expressed." Kourkoulos says.
And for most, seeing how the Greeks express themselves is the draw.
Ancient tragedy has given its lights to all the dramatic repertoire since antiquity," says Grigoris Valtinos, who plays the title role in this year's production. "Ancient tragedy is very popular everywhere. I want to believe it also is for the Americans as well."
Kourkoulos said that while the United States, Canada and Australia — countries with large Greek populations — have been stops on the tour, the theater draws many spectators who do not speak the language.
The theater is also preparing for its South American debut, with stops in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay from October through November, making 2000 the theater's most prolific year with more than 25 performances on the international stage.
Unlike a traditional musical, though, the chorus only "dance" might be considered a rhythmic stomping of the canes that aided their walking earlier as they flowed around a sea of 40 ghostly plaster figures, the only props flanking a T-shaped, black stage.
"Tragedy has to travel." Valtinos says.
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Plucker's instrument
2 Sits in neutral
11 Short snooze
2 Freeze over
15 Poor
18 Building add-on
17 Tendency to break
19 Sentimental drive
20 Bear-market word
30 Orville
21 Senator Lott
22 Bewildered
24 Keanu or Dan
27 Rouen's river
30 Brides' mates
26 Retreats
31 First-rate
30 10th mo.
3X
X
Board-game cube
40 Fish eggs
41 Horse arrester?
43 A realistic goal
44 Wooded star
50 Malicious burnie
54 Loops and burnie
54 Regretting
54 The king of France
57 Emcee
58 Hindu discipline
58 Wonderment
63 "Mighty Aphorde" co-star
69 Fellows
71 Lena or Marilyn
71 Camera-ready proof
90 Vow to mine
70 Directory
71 Pompous fools
DOWN
1 Topps of overall
2 Piece of land
3 A Diamond
4 Peninsula of 7D
5 Make a choice
6 Lack of refinement
$ \textcircled{2} $ 2000 Tribune Media Services, Inc All rights reserved.
10/4/00
Hamlet's home
Majors and Grant
Harris and Asner
Method
Israel desert
"Home _"
Scenarios
_Vegas
Remainder
Exam
Perez of "White
Men Can Jump"
Display
Alcea
Abebod by
Drama by
Sopholes
Pays heed
Globes
Ralph Lauren's
company
Observed
Winter Hunter
Concerning
Leading lady
Fancy socks
Chinese
Solutions to Tuesday's crossword
discipline
51 Crockett's
Waterloo
52 More recent
53 Goodnight girl of
song
55 Native of: suff.
57 Rigorous
59 Sorry 'bout that!
60 Pierce with a
horn
61 Book after Joel
64 Actor Chaney
65 Bikini top
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