Artistic Director’s Welcome
Welcome to The Odyssey!
Kate Hamill’s powerful contemporary adaptation of The Odyssey invites audiences to experience Homer’s epic not as just an ancient myth, but as a living, breathing story. By reimagining the stories of Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, Hamill asks us to reflect on the cycles of violence, revenge, and the trauma of war, and more importantly, to consider how we can learn to embrace healing and forgiveness in order to end those cycles. A writer who has reinterpreted many classic works through a feminist lens, Kate breathes new life into the epic by expanding the character of Penelope and imagining her life during Odysseus’s twenty-year absence. Her adaptation explores not only the experiences of the people who go off to fight in war, but also the experiences of family members who remain at home.
The A.R.T.’s relationship with Kate extends over many years, beginning with Bedlam’s production of her adaptation of Sense & Sensibility that we produced in December 2017. That same season, we commissioned Kate to write a new play inspired by The Odyssey. Since then, we have been working closely with Kate and Director Shana Cooper on its development, including a two-week workshop at Farkas Hall in October 2023 that was supported by The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund. This workshop’s culminating reading gave audiences their first glimpse of the work. We are so thrilled for you to experience this world-premiere production finally brought to life through the vision of a brilliant team of artists.
In collaboration with our creative and Engagement teams, we develop an Essential Question for every production that we stage, which we share with our audiences, our students, our staff and our community. For this work, we invite you to consider this question: If you’ve gone through something traumatic, can you ever go back to who you were? Can you ever go back home?
Thank you for coming to the A.R.T. and joining us for this production. We hope you leave with a renewed sense of how the past—and the stories we tell about it—continue to shape our present and our future.
Diane Paulus
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director
American Repertory Theater
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
presents
THE ODYSSEY
Creative Team
First performance at the Loeb Drama Center on February 9, 2025.
Production support of The Odyssey is provided by Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP and Alan Jones and Ashley Garrett.
Additional support is provided by The Robert Brustein Endowment Fund for New Works.
Support for the development of The Odyssey was provided by The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund.
Media Support of The Odyssey is provided by WBUR.
A.R.T. Season support is provided by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barton & Guestier, and Meyer Sound.
The A.R.T. 2024/25 Season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Runtime: Three hours, including two fifteen-minute intermissions.
This production contains sex, violence (including death of children and animals), and references to sexual assault, as well as fog, haze, strobe, and flashing lights.
Company & Staff
Cast (in Alphabetical Order)
Telemachus/Nausithous/Hector
Carlo Albán
Telemachus/Nausithous/Hector
Carlo Albán
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Sweat (Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut). Off-Broadway: The Light and the Dark, Primary Stages; Romeo y Julieta, References to Salvador Dalí…, Public Theater; Tamburlaine, TFANA; A Small, Melodramatic Story, Intríngulis, LAByrinth. Regional: The Light and the Dark, Chautauqua; Fandango, La Jolla; Whitelisted, CATF; The River Bride, Much Ado About Nothing, Timon of Athens, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Parallelogram, Lydia, CTG; The Night of the Iguana, Guthrie. London: Rare Earth Mettle, Royal Court. Film/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Elpenor/Achilles/Suitor
Benjamin Bonenfant
Elpenor/Achilles/Suitor
Benjamin Bonenfant
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Patriots. Off-Broadway: Julius Caesar, TFANA. Regional: Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alabama Shakespeare; Henry IV & V, Orlando Shakes; Romeo and Juliet, Great Lakes Theater; The Heart of Robin Hood, Hudson Valley Shakespeare; Red, Curious Theatre; The Seagull, The Bacchae, TheatreWorks (Colorado Springs); Oregon Shakespeare; Colorado Shakespeare. TV/Film: “Law & Order,” “The Good Fight,” “Bull,” Strapped. Education: BA, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Odysseus
Wayne T. Carr
Odysseus
Wayne T. Carr
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Richard II, Pearl Theatre; Funk It Up About Nothin’, Joe’s Pub. Regional: A Good Guy, Rogue Machine; Macbeth, Othello, Utah Shakespeare Festival; Seven Guitars, Yale Rep; Pericles, Guthrie/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Woman 1/Nausicaa
Alejandra Escalante
Woman 1/Nausicaa
Alejandra Escalante
(she/her) A.R.T.: Othello. Off-Broadway: Dying City, Second Stage. Regional: Simona’s Search, Hartford Stage; The Cherry Orchard, 2666, Upstairs Concierge, Measure for Measure, Song for the Disappeared, Goodman Theatre; Henry V, All’s Well that Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Taming of the Shrew, American Players Theatre; Sense and Sensibility, Guthrie Theater; The Excavation of Mary Anning, Another Word for Beauty, Fingersmith, New York Stage and Film; Darwin in Malibu, Washington Stage Guild. In six seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Measure for Measure, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Tenth Muse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Wrinkle in Time, The Tempest, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Othello, Love’s Labor’s Lost. Education: BFA, Boston University.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Woman 2/Circe
Kate Hamill
Woman 2/Circe
Kate Hamill
(she/her) A.R.T.: Sense & Sensibility. Off-Broadway: Pride and Prejudice, Primary Stages (Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominee); Dracula…, Classic Stage; Sense & Sensibility, Bedlam (Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Drama League Award nominee); Vanity Fair, The Pearl (Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominee); Little Women, The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi), Primary Stages. Select Regional: Emma, Guthrie; Ms. Holmes & Ms.Watson – Apt. 2B, KC Rep, Old Globe; The Little Fellow, Cygnet; Cyrano, Amphibian (DFW Critics’ Award Best Actress); The Scarlet Letter, Two River. Awards: WSJ Playwright of the Year 2017, Einhorn Award 2023. Kate has been one of the most-produced playwrights in America from 2017 to 2023; she is the most-produced playwright in the country this season. In development: Murder Play (or, The Aristocrats!).
Actors’ Equity Association member
Woman 3/Madame/Melantho/Anticlea/Andromache
Nike Imoru
Woman 3/Madame/Melantho/Anticlea/Andromache
Nike Imoru
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Metamorphoses (Ensemble), Seattle Rep; Hamlet (Hamlet), Seattle Shakespeare Company; Coriolanus (Coriolanus; Best Actress, Seattle Times Footlights Award), 12th Ave Arts; Bring Down the House (Warwick; Best Supporting Actress, Seattle Times Footlights Award, Gregory Award), Titus Andronicus (Aaron the Moor; Outstanding Actress, Gypsy Rose Lee Award, Seattle Times Footlights Award) Upstart Crow Collective; The Breach (Water/Poet), Seattle Repertory Theatre. Award/Fellowship: Lunt-Fontanne/Ten Chimneys Fellow. Film: Home of the Brave (Dr. Jaric), River Murders (Sarah Parker), All Those Small Things (Producer), Camilla Dickinson (Carter). International: Medea (Solo), Delphi, Greece. Education: PhD, Theatre History Race and Gender, University of Warwick, UK.
Actors’ Equity Association member
Amphinomus/Antinous
Keshav Moodliar
Amphinomus/Antinous
Keshav Moodliar
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Queen, Long Wharf/NAATCO; Arms and the Man, Gingold Theatrical Group; Measure for Measure, The Acting Company. Regional: Henry 6, The Old Globe; The Scarlet Letter, Two River Theater; Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare Theatre New Jersey. Film/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Penelope
Andrus Nichols
Penelope
Andrus Nichols
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Terra Firma, The Coop; The Saintliness of Margery Kempe, The Duke; Sense & Sensibility, Hamlet, Saint Joan (Lucille Lortel nomination), The Seagull, What You Will, Twelfth Night, Bedlam. Regional: A Lesson from Aloes, Hartford Stage; A View From The Bridge, Kennedy Center/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Polites/Polyphemus/Ajax/Suitor
Jason O’Connell
Polites/Polyphemus/Ajax/Suitor
Jason O’Connell
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy), Primary Stages; Happy Birthday, Wanda June (Harold Ryan), Wheelhouse/Duke on 42nd St.; Judgment Day (The Salesman), Park Avenue Armory; The Light and The Dark (Cosimo), Primary Stages; Becomes A Woman (Max), The Mint/City Center; Sense & Sensibility (Edward Ferrars/Robert Ferrars), Bedlam/Gym at Judson; The Seagull (Trigorin), Bedlam/Sheen Center; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom, Puck), The Pearl; and Jason’s own solo show The Dork Knight, Joe’s Pub, Primary Stages, and Abingdon Theatre Company (among others). Regional: Old Globe, Syracuse Stage, Two River Theater, Hartford Stage, Cape Playhouse, Kansas City Rep, Chautauqua Theater Company, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Florida Studio Theatre, and others. TV: “Search Party,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
Actors’ Equity Association member
Eurylochus/Agamemnon/Suitor
Chris Thorn
Eurylochus/Agamemnon/Suitor
Chris Thorn
(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Death of a Salesman, Bernhardt/
Actors’ Equity Association member
Puppeteer
Abigail Baird
Puppeteer
Abigail Baird
(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Library Lion (Heart of the Lion), Boston Public Library, Calderwood Pavilion; Nothing Really Matters (Lead), Harriet Jorgensen Theatre; Metamorphoses (Midas’s Daughter, Hunger, Pomona, Aerial Acrobatics Movement Director, and Performer), She Kills Monsters (Puppeteer), Nafe Katter Theater; Salvage (Toilet Girl, Hand-to-Hand & Aerial Acrobatics, Clown), Kinetic Arts Center. Education/
Understudies
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement for the appearance is made at the time of the performance.
Additional Staff
Access Staff
A.R.T. Staff
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus
Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.
SENIOR STAFF
Director of Facilities and Capital Projects: Peter Atkinson
Public Relations Director: Rebecca Curtiss
General Manager: Connor Davis
Managing Director: Anna Fitzloff
Executive Administrator: Kathleen Fowkes
Director of Finance: Julia Goldmacher
Senior Theater and Facilities Manager: Tracy Keene
Chief Development Officer: Eileen Kennedy
Director of Production: Krystin Matsumoto
Director of Artistic Programs & Dramaturg: Ryan McKittrick
Associate Artistic Director: Dayron J. Miles
Producer: Evan O’Brient
Chief Marketing Officer: Jennifer Weissman
STAFF
Artistic & EngagementArtistic Coordinator & Special Assistant to the Artistic Director: Karina Cowperthwaite ProducingAssociate Producer: Emma Watt Marketing & CommunicationsAssociate Director, Marketing and Communications: Susanna Jackson DevelopmentAssociate Director, Institutional Giving: Anna Cline FacilitiesAssistant Project Manager: Alex Giorgetti FinanceController: Toufiq Aitelfqih Patron ServicesHead of Patron Services: Emma Putnam |
ProductionProduction Manager: Skip Curtiss ScenicInterim Assistant Technical Director: Brian Melcher PaintCharge Scenic Artist: Gerard Vogt Stage OperationsStage Operations Manager: Kevin Belcher CostumesCostume Manager: Muriel Mangual-Bennett WardrobeWardrobe Manager: Alycia Marucci SoundSound Manager: Camilo Atehortua LightingLighting and Projections Supervisor: Matthew Adelman PropertiesProperties Manager: Erin Kehr Production OverhireScenic Carpenters: Elijah Brown, Thomas Eckenfels, Matthew Kadam, John Larson, Courtney Licata, Em McGrory, Jack Riter, Eric Schapero, Elise Tuckwood, Xavier Vogt |
Special Thanks
The Mignone Center for Career Success at Harvard University
David Elmer, Naomi Weiss, and Ryan Pasco, Harvard University Department of the Classics
The students of TDM 105, Introduction to Dramaturgy: Fahim Ahmed, Ekene “EK” Chukwueke, Margaret Caris, Judy Epstein, Annabelle Gardner, Claire Liu, Lollie McKenzie, Maranatha Paul, Katie Runions, Yafan Wang, Mack Webb
Rebecca Carroll, Alice Liang, Janelle Caso, Erin Albrecht, Steve Rollert, Luke Ferrante, B. Jewett, Zoë Lawson
Erin Orr, Lake Simons and Mia Randers-Pehrson, Paul Hamill
Additional sound and projections equipment provided by Sound Associates, Inc.
Additional sound equipment provided by Meyer Sound.
Additional lighting equipment provided by Christie Lites.
Model building from Nicole Bernardini. Drafting from Jeremy Crews.
The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The director and fight director of this production are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.
United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.
Explore
Audience Support Resources
We recognize that our productions may unintentionally activate distressing and/or traumatic memories of past experiences in our audience members. These resources are curated by Dr. Charmain Jackman through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens.
See Resources
We recognize that our productions may unintentionally activate distressing and/or traumatic memories of past experiences in our audience members. These resources are curated by Dr. Charmain Jackman through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens.
See Resources