*Lysistrata* and "Greek Week" at Gonzaga U

Lysistrata ... isn't that the comedy with the men stuck in an endless war, so the women go on a sex strike, and the men can't fight anymore because (as becomes enormously evident when they reappear onstage) particular bodily appendages of theirs have become enflamed with desire?

Yeah, some jokes -- even when they're 2,400 years old -- never grow old.

The Civic's production in 2004 had the men flouncing around with polystyrene swimming pool "noodles" protruding upwards from their groins. (Wires provided added, um, stiffness.)

And when you're attached to a stiff noodle, it's difficult to maintain even a modicum of dignity. (That Aristophanes, such a joker.)

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Kevin Connell -- the Jesuit priest who is principal at Gonzaga Prep and who will be directing the Gonzaga U production of Lysistrata at the Magnuson Theater in College Hall, March 25-28 -- has advised Bobo that the G.U. males actors won't have any noodles, "though we've found an interesting and, I think, unique way" to represent the men's, er, predicament.

Don't bring the kids, but do bring your sense of humor.

Bring your sense of historical curiosity, too, because the production will be surrounded by the activities of "Greek Week." Here's a rundown:

Monday, March 22
Crosby Student Center, 9 am-7 pm, "The Homer-athon"
Students and faculty read The Odyssey. Yes, all 12,000 lines of it.

Tuesday, March 23
Jepson Center, 4:30 pm
G.U. prof discusses Lysistrata in the context of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)

Wednesday, March 24
Jepson Center, 4:30 pm
G.U. lecturer discusses the "desperate housewives" of Aristophanes' comedy

Thursday, March 25
Jepson Center, 4:30 pm
Whitman professor discusses the physical layout of ancient Greek theaters
(Lysistrata, 7:30 pm; see below for details)

Friday, March 26
Jepson Center, 4:30 pm
big-name Univ. of British Columbia prof discusses the play's stagecraft
(Lysistrata, 7:30 pm)

Saturday, March 27
10 am, somewhere on campus
"Student Olympics," which sounds like a lot of frat boys in togas throwing javelins at each other
noon, Jundt Art Center:
Reed prof discusses ancient comedy and Athenian politics
2 pm, Lysistrata
4:30 pm, Jundt:
Utah prof discusses modern productions of Greek plays
7:30 pm, Lysistrata

Sunday, March 28
Lysistrata, 2 pm (all performances will have post-play discussions, too)

Trivia:
Real-life sex strikes were conducted by women in Colombia in 2006 and in Kenya in 2009. Also, the tail end of this post by Michael Riedel in the New York Post about the upcoming all-black production on Broadway of Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage includes a mention of a new musical based on Lysistrata. It's by a playwright who's been produced at two Spokane theaters, and it's called Give It Up! (Seems the cheerleaders are holding out on the basketball team.)


Lysistrata
Thursday-Saturday, March 25-27, at 7:30 pm, and Saturday-Sunday, March 27-28, at 2 pm
Tickets: $12; $10, G.U. employees; $8, students
Gonzaga, Magnuson Theater, east end of College Hall
502 E. Boone Ave.
Visit: gonzaga.edu/theatrearts
Call: 313-6553

For Spokane theater news, visit both stagethrust.blogspot.com and inlander.com under "Arts & Culture," theater blog.