Ithaka

by Andrea Stolowitz

Artists Rep

May – Jun, 2013

World Premiere

REVIEWS

“Artists Rep's staging, under the direction of Gemma Whalen, takes risks and reaps the rewards.”

Jonathan Frochtzwajg, Portland Monthly
“…director Gemma Whelan’s seamlessly nimble staging moves from car to roller coaster to hospital bed to battlefield effortlessly and with some impressive effects.”

Penelope Bass, Willamette Week
“Millican shows us the inner turmoil breaking through Lanie’s tough exterior; her mastery of the emotional arc of the story had audience members tearing and sniffling by the end of Friday’s opening-night performance. Director Gemma Whelan also draws particularly fine performances from Danielle Purdy (energetic and charming as Evie, slyly witty as another character called simply “the Cat”) and Victor Mack (gentle and perceptive as a nurse with his own traumatic past).”

Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

AUDIENCE COMMENTS

“I’m floored. To be able to take us to the depths of despair and then make us laugh is true genius.”
“Great acting, ingenious set design, and well paced, structured storytelling about an important topic. Bravo!”

ABOUT

With this newly commissioned play, Oregon playwright Andrea Stolowitz examines the issues involved with coming home from war, for both soldiers and their families. Marine Captain Elaine Edwards has just returned from her latest tour in Afghanistan but this time things are different — home doesn’t feel right and nothing makes sense. After a blow-up fight with her husband propels her to skip town, she undertakes an Odyssean journey through the American landscape battling her demons, trying to find her way home.

PHOTOS

CAST

Dana Millican / LANIE
Danielle Purdy / EVIE, THE CAT
Victor Mack* / JACOB
Paul Angelo / BILL
Valerie Stevens* / E.M.

CREATIVE TEAM

Gemma Whelan~ / DIRECTOR
Tal Sanders / SCENIC DESIGN
Bobby Brewer-Wallin / COSTUME DESIGN
Jeff Forbes / LIGHTING DESIGN
Rodolfo Ortega / SOUND DESIGN, COMPOSER
Carol Ann Wohlmut / STAGE MANAGER

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract.

~ The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.