Written by Bailey Wilson, Managing Editor.

VSU Theatre is performing their rendition of Iphigenia 2.5, a student-adapted version of the classic play Iphigenia in Aulis by Greek playwright Euripides, from Apr. 17-20. The story itself is a must-see performance, with contributions by students to bring this story to life in a way that is as beautiful as it is devastating.

The performance will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 17 through Saturday, Apr. 19, with a 3:00 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, Apr. 20. Tickets are free to anyone with a VSU ID, and the prices for non-students range from $14-$17. The show is short, with no intermission.

The story follows the Charles Mee rewrite of the original play, where the ancient Greek king Agamemnon agrees to sacrifice his daughter for the sake of what would become known as the Trojan War. In this retelling, there are no gods present in the story; the sacrifice is demanded by the soldiers, who say it is necessary to show that their leader understands the weight of war. 

This modern version of the story was reworked by the Devised Theatre class, who took this story and put their own spin on things. The result is a beautiful and moving retelling of a classic tale that puts Barbies together with soldiers and reflects on all the trials of doing so. It is an emotional roller coaster that blends humor and severity in a way that makes the end all the more shocking.

Agamemnon reflects less of the regality of the Greek kings of old, instead donning a more modern poise and mannerisms more closely related to presidents. This is an integral part of his speech, a point that Emory Davis, the actor for Agamemnon, focused on in his portrayal.

“Dr. Porterfield told me to do some research on great historical speakers like JFK, Raegan, and Churchill,” Davis, a sophomore theatre performance major, said. “At the end of the day, Agamemnon is a politician and a father, and he spends a lot of the show in his politician headspace.”

There are two major parties in the show that represent the two extremes of their situation: the soldiers, who want Agamemnon to prove his capability, and the bridesmaids who don’t take the situation seriously and just want to have a good time.

Though most soldiers are unnamed within the show, there are still interconnected storylines that create a heightened sense of camaraderie among the battalion present in the play. This is largely in part due to the cast, who was given the task of bringing life to an otherwise nameless chorus.

“One of our exercises, when we first started working on the show, was getting to create a character,” Jaclyn Taylor, a junior musical theatre major, said. “We get to create all these different stories between ourselves, what we internally feel, and be able to express that.”

The show features many figures from the original story, including Menelaus, Achilles and Clytemnestra, but removes the supernatural elements from their story. One of the largest challenges for this show was taking these iconic characters and recontextualizing them for the modern day.

“It’s been a process for sure,” David Cooper, a junior musical theatre major, said. “Trying to portray Achilles, who is known as one of the greatest warriors of all time, it’s very hard to portray that on stage.”

Some characters have been reworked, or even added where they were not present in the first place. One such character is the Old Man, a comic relief character who provides advice throughout the story.

“This is a character that is not in the original script, and I’ve never had to create a character,” Ryan Blaumueller, a freshman musical theatre major, said. “I’m really happy with how the character has turned out.”

The show itself is a mix of comedy and tragedy; there are moments that are humorous and lively that will immediately snap the audience back into the reality of the situation. It shows the horrors of war in a way that has not yet been explored by VSU Theatre and immerses the viewer into its story beautifully.

Final verdict? The show is spectacular, a perfectly poignant retelling of a classic tale that will leave the audience breathless. It not only achieved what the writers set out to do, but exceeded it.

Photos by Bailey Wilson, Managing Editor.