PLAY TITLE:

ANTIGONE

BLURB:

Set in Chicago, this retelling of this ancient tale uses hip hop lyrics and poetry to update this story with an all African-American cast of dancers, singers, and rappers.

NUMBER OF ACTORS:

7 M/ 7 F

LENGTH:

Full length

GENRE:

Classical drama updated written in Hip hop verse using other musical elements such as opera, jazz, spoken word, and rhythm and blues.

DEVELOPMENT STATUS/PRODUCTIONS:

Developed at Chicago Dramatists, 2004 directed by Ilesa Duncan

SPECIAL AUDIENCE APPEAL:

African-American, Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA)

SYNOPSIS:

Chicago.  Present Day.  Antigone’s brothers have both been killed in drive-by shootings by each other’s rival gangs. Antigone’s uncle, Creon, the President of the Free World, calls a press conference on CBS to announce that the body of one brother, Polyneices, should be left under the ‘L’ tracks at Madison and State in downtown Chicago to be eaten by rats, dogs, and pigeons.  Will Antigone honor her deceased brother’s wishes and bury him properly or go against her powerful uncle and risk death? Using hip hop poetry mixed with other musical genres, African dance and ballet, and slick language, this re-imagining of Sophocles’ Antigone tells the story of the ill-fated Antigone and her quest for honor, love, and family.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Awards list pending