Hope College Theatre will present Helen by Ellen McLaughlin on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 5-6, and Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 10-13, at 8 p.m. in the DeWitt Center studio theatre.
“Helen” tells the story of Helen of Troy, the famed character from the ancient Greek play by Euripedes. In McLaughlin’s play, Helen never actually makes it to Troy, but lands in an Egyptian hotel room, waiting for her husband Menelaus to retrieve her. Alone in her suite, she receives visits from Io and Athena and tries to make sense of the myths surrounding her life.
“Helen is essentially a comedy. It plays with the mythology surrounding the title character and touches upon several themes associated with her narrative,” said Daina Robins, who is the play’s director as well as a professor of theatre and chairperson of the department. “The power of the phenomenon of human beauty, the difference between identity and image, and personal story versus immortal and impossible myth, are issues explored throughout the play.”
Scene and properties design is by Richard L. Smith, professor of theatre and resident scenic designer; costume design is by junior Alexa Duimstra of Appleton, Wis.; and lighting and sound design is by Perry Landes, associate professor of theatre. The stage manager for the production is junior Dylan Connor of Tallahassee, Fla., and the assistant stage manager is freshman Kristen Brown of Chicago, Ill.
The cast includes senior Sophia Daly of Plymouth, junior Lauren Ezzo of Haslett, sophomore Allison Simmons of Port Huron, sophomore Alex Sloan of Dexter and senior Kaija von Websky of Holland.
Tickets for “Helen” are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and Hope faculty and staff, and $5 for students, and are available at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and may be called at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.
“Helen” is one of several activities that will be taking place during the college’s Homecoming Weekend, which runs Friday-Sunday, Oct. 12-14. Additional information about the weekend, which includes a variety of lectures, arts events and athletic competitions open to the community, as well as reunion activities for graduates from 1984 through 2012, is available online at hope.edu/homecoming.