.riot antigone: a play! a play!

The stage for Riot Antigone

I spent part of my weekend in NY and one of the reasons was to see this play "Riot Antigone" at La Mama. Normally I wouldn't post about a play on my blog BUT it's a musical / Greek tragedy so it fits the theme. Basically it's a Greek tragedy about Antigone. To give a brief synopsis...

Eteocles has been given a proper burial, but Creon, Antigone's uncle who has inherited the throne, has issued a royal edict banning the burial of Polyneices, who he believes was a traitor. Antigone defies the law, buries her brother, and is caught. When Creon locks her away in prison, she kills herself.

Three riot grrrls, three playbills, one show

The coolest thing about this play is the fact that it has a Riot Grrrl theme and the songs in the play are inspired by Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney songs. There were a few nods to Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love in terms of scenes too. Digital projector cameras seem to be the thing with plays today. The use of camera reminded me of Hunger Games when Creon would speak to the public. The cast was very diverse and all brought something great to the stage. In terms of songs there are 12 tracks (Tragedy, War Mind, Love Sucks, Actor for Hire, Keep, Girl Riot, My Grrrls, Free She, Cancer Girl, Asking for it, I Don't Pray, See You at the Front). So it's like watching a concert with a play going on in-between songs. It was really clever and well done. There was a merch table that had Riot Grrrl posters in the background. They sold tee-shirts, singles, stickers, and posters. If I did not have such a busy weekend I'd travel back to NY to see it again. "Riot Antigone" runs until February 19th.