Off-Broadway Cast of the Birds

Original Off-Broadway Cast - 1983
The Greek Theater of New York At 120 West 28th Street

THE BIRDS
by Aristophanes
translation by Walter Kerr; directed by Russ Fast
set and costume design by Stephen Weagle; lighting design by Trevor Odell
original music composed and arranged by Evangelos Fampas
original lyrics and vocal direction by Jon Neil-Harris
stage manager: Ellen Feldman

Pithetaerus
Yannis Simonides Epops

Poseidon
Alexis Mylonas Procne, Julia Kiley Iris

Demetra Karras Koryphaios
Jon Neil-Harris

Euelpides
Russ Fast

Prometheus and Prophet
Ahvi Spindell Barbarian

God and Real Estate Man
Randall Wright

Messenger No.1
Paul Spirelis Lawyer, Julie Ziavras

Messenger No.2
Maxon Gee

Chorus
Elaine Psihountas; Mala Maria; Barbara Varveris

Priestess Bird
Kathi Gati Butler

Bird and Herald
Stephen Weagle

Heracles
Chris Koronios

Poet
Kevin Rodgers

In examining a work of Greek Tragedy and/or any other theatrical piece, it is important to research and discover previous productions to see what others have done with the material gifted to us from the writers. This is true for all staged productions but, I believe it is even more so important to research and learn about the Ancient Greek works simply because of the age gap between now and then. It is important to take note of the world the play was written in because all theatre is a reflection of its time. Once you've learned what you need to know of the period, than you can make an informed opinion of how to stage and conceptualize your own production.

One of the ways to start off on this learning adventure is to look at the casts of previous productions. Because we are exploring Aristophanes The Birds, there have been literally hundreds of productions of it throughout time and I thought it best to work with an Off-Broadway cast to explore casting choices and to see what kind of production they put on.

"STAGE - 'THE BIRDS' BY ARISTOPHANES - Review - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 02 June 1983. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/02/theater/stage-the-birds-by-aristophanes.html>.