By Michelle Hines, University Relations
Emily Rieder, Jesse Presler, Josh Purvis, Ben Holbrook and Lindy Flowers (left to right) star in “Uncle Ulysses and the Mythic Sword.”
They may not be able to say the title without lisping, but kids will love UNCG Theatre’s latest summer repertory production, “Uncle Ulysses and the Mythic Sword.”
“Uncle Ulysses,” co-written and directed by UNCG theater professor Jim Wren, runs June 23-July 8 at Triad Stage, 232 S. Elm St., in downtown Greensboro. Written for children ages 3-12, it’s an adventure-packed, one-hour ride through the magical world of Mythopotamia with Uncle Ulysses, his niece Penny and a host of mythical creatures.
“Uncle Ulysses” is being staged as part of Theatre 232, a new collaborative summer agreement between UNCG Theatre and Triad Stage, a not-for-profit regional theater company. Performances are Saturdays, June 24, July 1 and 8 at 2 p.m.; June 23, 27, 28, 29 and 30 at 10 a.m.; and July 5, 6 and 7 at 10 a.m.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for children and seniors, and $5 for groups of 10 or more and for UNCG students. Call 336-334-4392 for tickets or information, or log on to www.uncg.edu/the.
“Uncle Ulysses” grew out of “Here There Be Dragons,” a children’s production staged as part of last year’s summer rep program and introducing the character Ulysses Drake. Wren worked with Joe Sturgeon, a former student who now operates the Man-in-the-Moon Theatre Company of Hickory, to write “Uncle Ulysses.” They even wrote a few songs for the show.
“‘Dragons’ really went over well and kind of struck a chord with people,” Wren said. “And we thought, there’s a character here that we like and we think we could begin a serial, an old-time serial, of the adventures of Uncle Ulysses.”
Wren said the show should prove to be a lot of fun for both kids and adults despite a “heavy” underlying theme – the idea of the collective unconscious of mythology. “We all share this common bond of stories and explanations of things. So we thought, what if all those myths existed in a place and Uncle Ulysses had access to that place?”
Theatre 232 will provide professional theatrical experience for the university’s undergraduate and graduate theater students while continuing the Summer Repertory Theatre originally mounted in 1947. The cast and crew of “Uncle Ulysses” are all UNCG theater students.
Cast members are: Josh Purvis as Uncle Ulysses, Emily Rieder as Penny, Brad Brown as Hector, Gretchen Ferris as Mom, Omoze Idehenre as the Sphinx, Ben Holbrook as Jason, Jesse Presler as Heracles, Lindy Flowers as Atalanta, Paige Berry as Circe and David Harrell as the Minotaur and King Ymir. Matt Duvall designed the set, Ami Shupe designed the costumes and Kasendra Bell designed the lighting.
