Franklin Stage Company Closes Season with An Iliad, by Lisa Peterson and Denis OHare, August 925

FRANKLIN — The Franklin Stage Company (FSC), Delaware County’s renowned professional summer theater, will present An Iliad, by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, based on Homer’s The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles. The play is the final offering in FSC’s 28th season, and runs from August 9–25 at Chapel Hall in Franklin, NY. “We’re so proud to present this moving piece, complete with live music, as we return to our roots of producing classically inspired work,” said Patricia Buckley, FSC’s Artistic Director. “This play became an instant classic when it premiered in New York in 2012.”

An Iliad is a timeless tale that features a compelling storyteller, perhaps Homer himself, who comes to tell the age-old story of war’s hold over the human race. Featuring Franklin Stage Company Associate Artist Charlie Kevin, with original music by Bassist Evan Jagels, the play uses modern language to recount the familiar tale of gods and goddesses, wars and battles, and humanity’s unending attraction to chaos. Speaking of portraying the eternal character of The Poet, Kevin said, “If lucky enough, an actor gets the opportunity to undertake such a role once in a career. I feel blessed that I’m able to do it at the place I call my theatrical home—FSC.”

Lauren Bone Noble, the play’s director, is a theater artist and Assistant Professor of Movement for the Actor at the University of Mississippi, and said of the piece: “An Iliad asks the audience to consider our fascination with war and its heroes. The power of this production is that it does not provide easy answers, but through the everyman character of The Poet offers us a meditation on the allure of conflict that stays with us long after we leave the theater.” 

Franklin Stage Company’s season runs through August 25 at Chapel Hall, 25 Institute Street in Franklin, NY. Please note all evening shows have a curtain time of 7:30 pm. An Iliad will also have Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday shows at 5:00 pm. General Seating. Admission is free—suggested donation is $25 per person. For more information and reservations, visit www.franklinstagecompany.org. Programming at the Franklin Stage Company is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.