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player ready...One might wonder what the well-known tale of “The Arabian Nights” based on “The Book of The Thousand and One Nights,” has to offer a contemporary theatre audience in the year 2016? GreenMan Theatre Troupe will answer that question by presenting Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of “The Arabian Nights” April 8-24.
“It’s an intersection of pure entertainment — comedy and drama, with an undercurrent that provokes thoughtful responses about sexual dynamics and the power struggle between men and women, as ancient as time itself,” said David Soria, GreenMan Artistic Director, and director of the production.
Derived from a collection of folk tales from Iran, Saudi Arabia and India, “The Arabian Nights” was first adapted by Zimmerman for a premiere at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre in 1992. Zimmerman’s version offers a decidedly adult reworking of the story of King Shahryar, who after finding his first wife in the arms of another, murders her and her lover. Overtaken by bitterness and revenge, Shahryar decides he will marry a new woman each night — only to kill her in the morning. That is until Scheherazade, courageously marries the King and begins telling a wondrous tale each evening that continues through dawn — when she is supposed to be killed -— except that the King allows her to live for one more day, in order to finish the next story. In this way, she suspends her death sentence for one thousand and one nights, slowly healing King Shahryar’s broken heart, which leads to her pardon, and to his transformation.
GreenMan’s production features a cast of 15 actors (eight men and seven women) taking on over 60 roles, including lovers, jesters, kings, genies and madmen.
Emily Anne Leu, who plays Perfect Love, said, “This Arabian Nights is a female-driven narrative and Mary Zimmerman’s script reflects that unique perspective. Almost every tale includes a strong, brave, and intelligent female lead that sets the male protagonist straight after a wrongdoing. Sharyar has lost trust in all women at the start of the play and it is Scheherazade’s duty to warm his heart and teach him to trust again.” Perfect Love appears in the Madman’s Tale, the first story Scheherazade tells to the king to save her own life, and tells a cautionary tale of how false virtue and unchecked fury can lead a soul to madness.
While this Greenman production was created to entertain and delight audiences, it also provides a symbolic celebration of the story as a powerful redemptive medium that crosses cultures, ethnicities and sexual affiliations. The stories told are varied in style ranging from broad comedy to subtle poetry, and “while it’s certainly possible just to sit back and be entertained,” Soria said, “I think audiences may also see the timely nature of the production as well, given that we have some politicians calling for banning the entry of all Muslims into the United States, even doing a play set in the ancient Arabic world seems like a bold statement in favor of greater understanding and against hatred and bigotry. The portrayal of the ‘battle of the sexes’ in some of the stories also feels very contemporary, as the women in the stories push back against simplistic notions of sexuality and relationships.”
Nicole Urso, who plays Scheherazade, spoke about the power of storytelling.
“A story is only a story, but its real influence is based on how the listener adapts it to their own experience,” Urso said. “In ‘The Arabian Nights,’ the King is not listening to anyone, and so through the stories Scheherazade tells he learns that he is not alone, and that with human suffering there can also be hope. These stories work to open up his heart and mind, without him even knowing it.”
GreenMan Theatre presents, ‘The Arabian Nights’
When: April 8-24
Where: First United Methodist Church of Elmhurst, 232 S. York, Elmhurst
Tickets: $17, $15 students/seniors
Information: 630-464-2646; www.greenmantheatre.com