The Brothers Menaechmus

THE BROTHERS MENAECHMUS A Comedy by Plautus Translated by: Erich Segal Directed by: Dr. Donna L. Clevinger Performances at Zacharias Village Thursday and Friday, September 26-27, 2013 Cookout on Thursday begins at 5:00 p.m. with entertainment and show beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Griffis Courtyard. Friday night entertainment and show will begin at 5:30 p.m. Free to all but donations are always accepted! Please bring something to sit on (chairs, blankets, etc...) The production is part of the Shackouls Honors College “Classical Week 2013,” a celebration of Greek, Roman and other cultures of the ancient world. Titus Maccius Plautus (254-184 BC) was Rome’s most popular and successful playwright and perhaps the most influential comic author of all time. Like Shakespeare and Moliere, he began his career as an actor in popular comedies, which undoubtedly sharpened his unique sense of what made audiences laugh. His rise to fame coincided almost precisely with Rome’s rise to world dominance. Plautus transformed the sedate, sentimental drama of Hellenistic Greece into boisterous comedy, tailored to please audiences during the most morally upright period of the Roman republic. His plays and musical adaptations by later writers, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, prove that Plautus is still very much alive on Broadway, Hollywood and university theatres around the world! The premise of the play is simple: what would happen if a man, coming to a strange town, were taken to be his unknown twin brother by his brother’s slave, mistress, and wife? Plautus raises the question of identity itself: is it something one possesses or a consequence of social life? Set in Greece, The Brothers Menaechmus develops a fully Roman ethos and sense of festivity especially through Plautus’ mastery of characters, including the hen-pecked husband, the beautiful mistress who lives next door, and the ever hungry slave. The script also provides opportunities for audience participation. For information: Phone: 662-325-2522; Website: honors.msstate.edu