The Boys from Syracuse - Center Stage

GLOSSARYContinued>>>Sophocles, tragedies by Sophocles was one of the threegreat ancient Greek tragedians, together with Aeschylus andEuripides. He might have written as many as 123 plays; in thedramatic competitions of the Festival of Dionysus (where eachsubmission by one playwright consisted of four plays—threetragedies and a satyr), he won more first prizes (approximately20) than any other playwright, and placed second the rest ofthe time. Only seven of his tragedies have survived complete.The most famous are the three tragedies concerning Oedipusand Antigone, often known as the Theban Plays or The OedipusCycle.sorcerer A vestigial evocation of Ephesus as a setting forShakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, due to the city’s renown as thecenter of magical practice. In Rodgers and Hart’s version, theShakespearean pedant-quack turns into a more vaudevilliancharlatan magician, placing us also in the world of the 1930s.tantalizing Teasing; provoking or arousing expectation,interest, or desire, while remaining unobtainable. Appropriately,th term derives from the story of poor Tantalus who wascondemned to stand for eternity, hungry and thirsty, withfood and water just out of his reach.“The venom clamor of a jealous woman poisons …” The onlyline retained by Rodgers, Hart, and Abbott from Shakespeare’sThe Comedy of Errors; spoken by the equivalent characterin that play, at the equivalent point. In case anyone didn’trealize the source for the line, Dromio yells out “Shakespeare”immediately following, to highlight the fact (a bit supposedlyinserted by the original actor).vestal virgins Priestesses who tended the sacred fire in thetemple of the Roman goddess Vesta in ancient Rome; theyremained celibate during their servitude. More generally usedof maiden attendants of holy shrines. ●Next Stage: The Boys from Syracuse | 15