The ancient theme of "the battle of the sexes" was revived last week as the School of Drama premiered Lysistrata, its first play of the 2005-2006 season. Lysistrata is a work of Aristophanes, the famous Greek playwright. The production was directed by Jed Allen Harris, with an original score by Carson Cooman. With this version, the cast and crew have proved that Aristophanes' biting, ribald humor is still effective today, more than 2000 years after the play was written.  

Lysistrata takes place during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), a brutal conflict that pitted the two most powerful cities in Ancient Greece, democratic Athens and militaristic Sparta, against each other. Tired of enduring the hardships of war, the Athenian woman Lysistrata calls upon both Athenian and Spartan women to join forces and compel the men to stop the fighting. To achieve this, she concocts an ingenious plan: all women must abstain from sex with the men until they agree to stop the war.  

From an aesthetic standpoint, Lysistrata serves up a vision of Ancient Greece that is far removed from the clean marble temples and minimalist white togas present in common depictions of the ancient world. This vision first becomes evident in the scenery, which features a beautiful, but rather ragged and neglected, Athenian temple. Similarly, the actors wear colorful, and often tacky, robes, elaborate makeup, and jewelry. Not a single white toga was in sight.

Senior Susan Goodwillie gives an energetic, confident performance as Lysistrata. She brings to life Lysistrata's steadfastness and her commitment to ending the carnage of war. Lysistrata is accompanied by a cast of misfit characters who provide comic relief to her unwavering earnestness. There is the foul-mouthed, skeptical Kleonike (senior Eryn Joslyn), gentle Myrrhine (senior Michelle Mulitz), and boisterous, aggressive Lampito from Sparta (senior Ashton Heyl).  

A particularly humorous scene in the play takes place in the beginning, when Lysistrata attempts to convince the women to agree to withhold sex from their men. "But not sex, there's nothing like it!" quips Joslyn. After much complaining, the women make a hilarious pact to deny "all rights of access or entrance, to every husband, lover, or casual acquaintance."

Lysistrata's plan is not without its obstacles. At every turn, she is reminded of her "rightful place" as a woman in Greek society. The Commissioner, played by senior Greg Coughlin, insults her plan, saying that "a woman's place is the silence of the home."  Slowly, however, the men begin to realize that they cannot carry on without sex. In a very funny exchange, Kinesias (senior Chris Henry), Myrrhine's sex-starved husband, attempts to trick his wife into breaking her vow of celibacy, with hysterical results.  

As in traditional Greek plays, the chorus plays a large role in this production, functioning at times as spectators and Athenian citizens. Some of the funniest moments in the play come from the hostile interactions between the Chorus of Men, led by senior Jack Carpenter, and the Chorus of Women, led by senior Paloma Guzman. The men complain bitterly about the women's scheme, while the women revel in their newfound power over them. Carpenter and Guzman are constantly at war, repeatedly hurling insults and even physically beating up on each other. Carpenter's "Top 10 Reasons Why Wine is Better than Women" is so hilarious it alone is worth the price of admission.

The play is at its most moving when the protagonist tries to convince the men that their stubbornness and violent ways are bringing the city to ruins. Lysistrata points out how the war is really an excuse for the men to seize even greater power and glory: "This is no war. This is a pissing contest," she declares. She points out how war slowly destroys a city, reducing its inhabitants to a life filled with constant suffering and anxiety.

This version of Lysistrata tries to make the humor of the play more accessible to a modern audience, and to do so it takes considerable liberties with the original text. Nevertheless, it succeeds in capturing the irreverent spirit of this comedy. Even more noteworthy is its success in disclosing the serious message hidden in the play's outrageous humor. Lysistrata is, above all, a call for peace in times of war.

The School of Drama will continue to show Lysistrata in the Philip Chosky Theater from Tuesday, October 11 through Saturday, October 15. For more information about the School of Drama's season and for purchasing tickets, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/drama.

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