Iphigenia at Aulis At Coe College

Iphigenia (Katty Perrell ’15, center) pleads with her father King Agamemnon (Josue Sanchez-Lopez ’16, left) to spare her life, as her mother Clytemnestra (Courtney Marti ’14, right) looks on in the upcoming Coe theatre production of Iphigenia at Aulis. 

The Coe College Department of Theatre Arts will present the classic drama Iphigenia at Aulis on Nov. 16, 17, 18, 29, 30 and Dec. 1 in Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, Nov. 18 show, which starts at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Iphigenia at Aulis is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, presented in a contemporary English translation by Elaine Terranova, and directed by Coe Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Steven Marc Weiss.

While stranded with his troops at the port of Aulis, King Agamemnon of Argos faces the toughest decision of his life: should he or should he not yield to the goddess Artemis’ directive that he willingly sacrifice his eldest daughter as the only apparent means of starting the war against Troy. At its heartfelt, poignant core, this "family drama" about the conflicting demands of kinship versus society-at-large is as accessible today as it presumably was when first presented more than 2,500 years ago.

"The play’s action is beautifully structured around an ever-escalating series of missteps, as the principal characters repeatedly alter their positions, changing their minds repeatedly about decisions they’ve already made or about how to deal with or respond to decisions others have made for them," said Weiss in his director’s comments. "So far from undermining an audience’s empathetic response to these vacillating attitudes, I believe that the very indecisiveness of these characters, who are caught in a double bind from which they cannot advantageously disentangle themselves, renders them all-too human and, ultimately, deserving of our compassion."

For more information, call 319-399-8600 or visit theatre.coe.edu.