Subgenre
Adaptation (Shakespeare), Classical/ancient subject matter, Trojan War
Target audience: Appropriate for 16 and up.
Content warning: discussion of sexual assault, child harm, and the effects of war.
Summary
Starting in the seventh year of the Trojan War, Priam’s youngest son, Troilus, falls in love with Cressida, the daughter of traitor who has allied with the Greeks. Meanwhile, Ulysses conjures a plot to trick Achilles to get back into the fight.
Centering women’s voices
Traditionally, Cressida has been portrayed as a traitorous woman who betrays her lover, Troilus; however, her story is more complicated than writers across the ages have allowed. Imagine what it would feel like for Cressida to be a pawn in this war, but have no voice in it. Centralizing women’s experiences in the Trojan war and showing how Cressida’s actions are motivated by the desire for protection, the musical understands her as a survivor, one whose loyalty must be to herself since no one else – not even Troilus – will save her.
The perspectives of Helen, Cassandra, Andromache, and Iphigenia are also prominently represented in this adaptation. Iphigenia – Agamemnon’s daughter – is not in the original play, but her story is emblematic of the sacrifices made of women and children in war. Andromache, Hector’s wife, and Cassandra – the prophetess, whose prophecies are never believed – both stand as emblems of women with unheeded intuition. Helen has been portrayed as both a victim and a willing participant in her abduction over time. In this version of the war, she is a woman who is simply seeking freedom to make her own choices, but she exchanges one bad situation for another and is devastated by the war being fought over her.
Orchestra
Piano, Guitar, Violin, Cello, Bass, Percussion