Court Theatre, in partnership with UChicago Presents, is delighted to welcome acclaimed musical ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, to our space for a limited-run performance of their innovative and enchanting work, composition as explanation.
Eighth Blackbird (8BB) has been pushing the interpretative boundaries of chamber music since its first choreographed program in 1996. So far, the organization has created seven full evening-length staged productions. What began as an experiment has become a repertoire coined as “Super Chamber Music” by composer David Lang. This still-unofficial genre falls in the cracks between music and theater and has been a conundrum for marketing professionals for two decades. Nonetheless, 8BB does it anyway. This playground between disciplines is an inevitable extension of Eighth Blackbird’s inner workings. It is the guts and it is the bones of their artistry.
composition as explanation is 8BB’s next foray into uncharted aesthetic territories. This time the evening is composed by David Lang and directed by Anne Bogart, though the true hero of the evening is Gertrude Stein. Her essay (by the same name) is the heart and breath of this work.
How should 8BB bring an audience into the repetitive and plainspoken and circular format of Stein’s writing? She has blurred the relationship between her content, her form, and her performance. 8BB follows her lead and blurs performance distinctions between instrumental virtuosity, chamber ensemble dexterity, acting, singing, costume, lighting, audio, and staging.
Is this work really all about Stein though? No. Her writing is the catalyst, but what the audience leaves with is a new point of inquiry regarding how they absorb art. Any art. By lifting Stein’s enigmatic oration from the printed page, 8BB creates layers of interpretation and reveals the human relationship with art from an entirely unprecedented perspective. A perspective that is experienced, rather than erudite, as thoughtful, clever, humorous, intuitive, insightful, and joyful.
composition as explanation runs from Sept 28 - 30, 2023 and tickets are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at (773)753-4472.
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Court Theatre is proud to remount our production of The Gospel at Colonus at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. Experience the joy, redemption, and healing of Chicago gospel all the way in the Golden State!
Each fall, the Outdoor Theater at the Getty Villa series features a classical tragedy or comedy in the Villa’s dramatic Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater, an outdoor venue modeled after ancient Greek and Roman theatres. These productions are drawn from respected theatres across the nation, and an invitation to the Getty Villa is a highly-sought honor for theatres producing classical works. Court Theatre is honored to remount our production of The Gospel at Colonus at the Getty Villa stage in Malibu, California.
Mark J.P. Hood and Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell lead this reprisal at the Getty, joined by the majority of the original cast and band. Soulful and stirring, this one-of-a-kind theatrical event breathes new life into the Oedipus myth with a score of powerful gospel music. A bold collaboration from an extraordinary team, The Gospel at Colonus builds upon the strengths and experiences of its artists to bring this redemptive musical celebration to life.
“It is an honor to bring The Gospel at Colonus to the Getty Villa,” shares Director Mark J.P. Hood. “Charlie Newell and I have been developing this production for five years, and that time has been totally worth it. To finally be able to do this production in Chicago and have it be so well-received, and now, to be able to do it at the Getty? This is a God dream! As a native Chicagoan who now lives in Los Angeles, I can’t wait to take this production from one of my home cities to the other. Let’s go, LA!”
Director Charles Newell comments: “The Gospel at Colonus has been utterly life-changing, ever since I first saw it at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1983. The fact that I have been able to direct it, together with Mark J.P. Hood, has been such a gift, and the fact that Court’s staging has touched so many, so deeply is a testament to the incredible cast, band, production team, and creative team. My deepest thanks to Mark J.P. Hood; Mahmoud Khan; Nick Rudall, Court’s founding Artistic Director; and our Chicago audiences. We now take the exciting next step and bring The Gospel at Colonus to the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, and we can’t wait to share this production with you.”
The play will feature set design by John Culbert, costumes by Raquel Adorno, lighting design by Keith Parham, movement design by Cristin Carole, and sound design by Sarah Ramos.
Court Theatre was last at the Getty in 2017 for their staging of Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides’s ancient tale of power and sacrifice. It has been over five years since a Court production has toured to the Getty space, and it is an immense honor to return.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Court Theatre to the Getty Villa for this year’s gospel musical production, The Gospel at Colonus,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “Theater was a fundamental component of religious and social life in ancient Greece, and our theater program continues to demonstrate the importance of classical drama in contemporary society.”
Performances of The Gospel at Colonus will be held at 8:00pm, Thursdays through Saturdays, from September 07 – 30, with previews on August 31 – September 02. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted performances will take place on September 14 and 21.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or by calling the Getty Villa (310) 440-7300. We'll see you in California!
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The Gospel at Colonus is a lush theatrical experience. The cast, band, and creative team depict Oedipus's fateful curse and redemption through intricate vocal arrangements, a powerful score, and compelling storytelling. For the 90 minutes of the production's duration, audiences are awash in sound and story, complemented and accentuated by John Culbert and Raquel Adorno's skillful designs.
Here, scenic designer Culbert and costume designer Adorno take us behind-the-scenes of their designs, sharing their inspiration and outlining how the set and costumes contribute to Sophocles's timeless text. Read on to learn more!
John: There was actually a world developed for this production before the pandemic, and a set that was designed by Arnel Sanciano, but that version of our own world – and that version of the story that was going to be told in 2018 when we first started this journey – has evolved since then. The original world for this show was based a church, and that’s the same approach that the original production of The Gospel at Colonus took: the idea that we’re in a church.
To me, that creates a world for the form of the story that they were telling, and the vocabulary of how it was going to be told. In the meantime, for this production – for the 2023 Court production – the story evolved to focus more on the original story of the play, Oedipus at Colonus; the story of Oedipus and the journey he takes to be transformed, to be accepted, and for him to accept himself and thus be able to pass to the next world peacefully.
So, focusing on the actual human journey of Oedipus leads you to create a different kind of world. The focus changes to capturing the human journey through this particular vocabulary of gospel music, and the power that that music has to reveal that human journey is what makes this all so magical.
The process started with looking at all kinds of spiritual spaces, not just churches. To me, walking in Court Theatre feels like a spiritual place, particularly when it’s empty. You walk in, and it’s like, “Wow. Think of all the things that can happen in here!” To me, that is a spiritual place as well. So there’s imagery of places of the spirit. In the context of the play, the actual, literal setting is a spiritual grove that’s the home of the Furies. In the story of Oedipus at Colonus, there are places in that grove that are forbidden, Oedipus goes there, and, as a result of that, he has to go through a ritual in order to appease the Furies.
Here, we see some imagery that was used for the notion of the grove. As my research progressed, I found images that combined those two things: they captured elements of a grove, but also the essence of those more architectural, spiritual places. Here, we see the wood-slatted wall in the back, and that wall is actually curved; it has elements of the grove, but also architectural elements of a church.
In the model, you see the slatted wall – that came directly from the inspiration image – but it’s also an organic space. The floor has a number of levels that are very organic in shape, and – right in the center – there’s a rock that’s more natural than the rest of the world onstage. That rock is the most sacred spot in the world; that is a place where you should not go. You shouldn’t sit on it without being invited by the Furies.
This world is one of islands within the theatre. We have that rock and we have the set. At the beginning of the show, Oedipus enters this space after being on a long journey. He meets the people of that world, the people of Colonus, who are on this island, which sets up the dynamic of who’s on that island and who isn’t – literally and figuratively – in that moment. But the theatre itself is also part of our spiritual place. As you can see in the set, the edges are visible all the way around. It’s not an endless world – it’s an island. And so the theatre around that island becomes part of the world, as well. To honor that, we’re using the house as part of the world of the play, which is always exciting.
One of the things that’s really amazing is just how many people are in that world - it’s really powerful. And then, of course, when you sing in that space, that’s going to be hugely powerful, as well. It’s really exciting!
Raquel: The costumes for The Gospel at Colonus are rooted in the visual language of Ancient Greece, African royalty, and contemporary fashion. Nearly all of the garments are natural fibers painted with metallic gold paint, some of which were hand-painted by Court's wardrobe team.
The palette is meant to evoke the colors of the grove that John Culbert designed: wood, stone, and sunlight. The actors, themselves, were also a huge source of inspiration. I spent many hours studying pictures of them trying to create looks that evoked the world of the play, their characters, and their individual style.
I also drew inspiration from the Black Pentecostal church; for example, the use of scarves is rooted in that tradition. During my senior year of college, I was going through a difficult time and my mentor noticed. As a means of support, she took me to church with her family - they were congregants of a Black Pentecostal church in central Illinois. There, the walls vibrated with energy, and music, and love, and the parishioners looked radiant as they worshipped. It's my hope that these costumes capture that same sense of ecstatic joy that I experienced with my mentor; I hope to respectfully honor that in this design.
The Gospel at Colonus is onstage from May 12 - June 18 and tickets are available now! Join us and experience this one-of-a-kind theatrical event for yourself!
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Read on to learn more!
It is no coincidence that the telling of The Gospel in Colonus from within a South Side Chicago theatre hums with the tragedy and catharsis that gave birth to gospel music during the Great Migration, and with the joy and humility of the Pentecostal church whose presence is so deeply rooted in the South Side.
In this story of Oedipus’s forgiven debts and his release to the afterlife, we witness the Jubilee (which translates to “year of release”). Pentecostal ritual is evoked to tell the story of Oedipus and his daughters’ welcome to Colonus. Maundy, or Washing of the Saints’ Feet, is a Christian ritual of welcome and humility.
In Court Theatre’s telling, the washing is not of the feet, but of the hands - an artistic choice made to keep the eyes drawn upward as Oedipus’s journey continues to bring him closer to the heavens. The bowls are carved of wood, creating three organic shapes that are at once unique and united, as are the journeys of Oedipus, Antigone, and Ismene.
The Gospel at Colonus is on stage at Court Theatre from May 12 - June 18 → Get Tickets
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Cry hallelujah - Opening Night of The Gospel at Colonus was an awe-inspiring, soul-stirring success! Reviewers and audience members alike are singing the praises of Gospel, calling it "brilliant," "phenomenal," and "the one [show] you must see this year."
While this production runs until June 11th, performances are already filling up. Get your tickets before they're gone!
"A gorgeously produced, deeply inclusive and richly sung staging...Kelvin Roston Jr., a frequent Newell collaborator who sizzles with life here, as does Ariana Burks as an earnest Ismene and Aeriel Williams as a regal Antigone. As Theseus, Mark Spates Smith runs the service and Shari Addison, the nationally known Gospel singer playing both a chorus member and a soloist, and a longtime veteran of this particular piece of theater, is just thrilling.
It’s such a cliché in theater reviewing to praise fusion that I worry the power of what this particular production has achieved here inevitably is diminished in that telling. Suffice it to say, then, that this work clearly is born in long preparation and deep thought and the show has uncommon integrative power and thus a clear capacity for healing. All that and your ears fill with beautiful sound from a choir and a live band.
In an era of resolutely secular, and often small, theater, Court has put up something with an expansive vision and a directorial approach that respects what Telson and Breuer achieved but gently improves upon it for the current moment. It’s a South Side rebirth for “Gospel at Colonus,” and thank whatever God you worship for that. May it live on."
— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 4 out of 4 stars
"Court’s Gospel at Colonus gives us a glimpse of transcendence, hope, and revival, thanks to a soul-stirring ensemble and a tight five-piece band, delivering their music from above the stage like a session group from heaven."
— Chicago Reader, Reader Recommended
"There are so many high points from a talented ensemble, a most entertaining entity this writer enjoyed thoroughly. Juwon Tyrel Perry portrays The Friend, who first tells Oedipus he cannot enter a holy place, in a stunning vocal turn. Kai A. Ealy as the evil son Polyneices offers wonderful character work, full of depth and deception. As dual Choragos whose advice Oedipus accepts, Eric A. Lewis and Shari Addison deftly lead the citizenry in alternating moments of huge passion and quiet choral harmonies, all rooted in the Pentacostal tradition of call-and-response that is nothing if not exciting to watch here. Everyone deserves mention – Jessica Brooke Seals as a knowing preacher of sorts, augmented by a Greek chorus (Jerica Exum, Cherise Thomas, Isaac Ray, Shantina Lynet', Eva Ruwé) who takes the captivating music to emotional heights in a totally unique take of the Court’s classic theatre mode.
The Gospel at Colonus is co-directed with an elegant combination of big choral strokes and intimate individual moments by Mark J.P. Hood and Charles Newell with associate director TaRon Patton. A sparse scenic design by John Culbert; the colorful Raquel Adomo costuming; the wonderful, attentive shafts of sharp light in one moment and warm, enveloping light in another by Keith Parham; the complimentary sound layers designed by Sarah Ramos – all eloquent pieces to a puzzle of thick design and story. All of these elements, expert as they are, grabbed onto the coattails of the exciting, heartfelt gospel blues from the five-piece unit led by Mahmoud Khan. Along with the audience, one could even see Production Stage Manager Kate Ocker clapping along from the stage manager’s booth. That’s how infectious it is – spectacular and from the heart."
— Picks In Six, Highly Recommended
"Court Theatre closes its 2022/2023 season with what can only be described as a jubilant musical and dramatic celebration of life. I defy audiences to sit quietly, casually and passively just observing this pulsating production. If you aren’t clapping your hands, you’re bobbing your head to the beat; if you’re not actively participating in the kind of call-and-response tradition found in a Pentecostal Church service, you’re at the very least emotionally engaged. Theatergoers will find themselves filled with exultation at this ancient story brought into the twenty-first century. And if none of these things apply, you might want to check your pulse."
— Chicago Theatre Review, Highly Recommended
"The play is a musical rendering of the Oedipus Story like none other. This musical is masterfully directed by Mark J.P. Hood and Charles Newell...I highly recommend The Gospel at Colonus as an uplifting tale of Oedipus performed by a spectacular ensemble of actors and singers that lifted the audience on opening night. It will fill your soul."
— Third Coast Review, Highly Recommended
"The Gospel of Colonus isn't a story about God, but the spiritual music performed in this play will make you feel like you're in a church service....As a Baptist minister and a theater critic, it was the first time I had to force myself to stay in my seat during a review and not start dancing and singing at a play, but the Colonus choir had my spirit internally shouting...Dynamic singing in flawless harmony and impeccable acting provide 85 minutes of hallelujah joy — a soulful Greek chorus audience[s] will never forget."
— Let’s Play Theatrical Reviews, Highly Recommended
"Directors Charles Newell and Mark J.P. Hood with Associate Director Taron Patton [have] curated the best voices in gospel music available in the Chicagoland area...I heard the most complicated, beautiful vocalizing I have ever heard on stage. I thought my guest was going to stand up and do a holy dance - she came close...It was especially uplifting to see women in this male dominant production as more than placeholders...Bless yourself and see this show."
— Buzz Center Stage, Highly Recommended
"This modern interpretation of Sophocles’ classic myth is told in rhythmic, uplifting, and expressive song, featuring great soloists and responsive spiritual music, which moves the audience not only emotionally but to a locus in the fantasy world....In all, The Gospel at Colonus is a performance to remember!...This show is pure magic!"
— Around the Town Chicago, 5 out of 5 stars
"Here, laden with the wisdom of the ancient Greeks and the ambrosia throatiness of gospel singing, [Kelvin Roston Jr.] shedding his guilt is positively transcendent. Co-directed by Charles Newell and Mark J. P. Hood (Hood also handling music direction), and backdropped by the loveliest bare-bones chapel you’re likely to see for a while (by John Culbert), this Colonus is serious business, and, one can hope, will have serious legs beyond Chicago."
"It’s certainly a bold and ambitious approach to the trilogy, and these leads are all great performers...the show probes, via an African American perspective, complex and deeply human problems — sins, familial strife, notions of free will and fate — on the way to celebrating life."
— Chicago Sun-Times, 3 out of 4 stars
"Music, movement, and electric connection...tells the audience everything timeless and worth knowing about the story...For a show that is moving, uplifting and devastating, it's somehow hard to talk about individual performances, as this depends so deeply on the way the entire cast feeds and sparks off one another."
"There is more singing than speaking, with each cast member displaying tremendous vocal power and range through long, melismatic strings of sung notes."
"You will leave The Gospel at Colonus feeling uplifted or at least reveling in the joyous music, stellar singing and fine acting."
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Check out these resources for academics, enthusiasts, educators to support your learning and viewing of The Gospel at Colonus.
We’d love to hear what you think of our Learning Guides! Please complete this brief survey to share your feedback.
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Use these questions to reflect, discuss, or journal about your experience and reactions to The Gospel at Colonus! Explore any of the questions that interest you.
The Gospel at Colonus reimagines Sophocles’s Oedipus at Colonus as a Pentecostal church service. This glossary, compiled by Production Dramaturg Wenke (Coco) Huang, illustrates some of the connections between these two traditions as told in the vocabulary of the play.
| Word/Phrase | Greek Origin | Pentecostal Origin |
|---|---|---|
| The Book of Oedipus | Sophocles's Oedipus Rex. | The New Testament books of the Bible. |
| Invocation | The summoning of the divine by the suppliants. | The start of a prayer, sermon, etc. |
| Ode | A “Choral Ode” is sung by the Chorus after every “scene” as concluding commentary. They are lyrical poems accompanied by music and dance. | English odes are lyric poems that praise their subjects with exalted emotions. They have irregular meters, and are elaborate, imaginative, dignified, and sincere. Biblical Odes are chants from the Bible sung in Christian liturgies from the earliest period. They are essential to Orthodox worship. |
| Myrtle Sprigs | Myrtle & the goddess of love, Aphrodite (Venus); Venus is described by Ovid as emerging from the sea on her half-shell holding a sprig of myrtle. Myrtle crowns (chaplets) appear in wedding crowns for either the bride or the groom. Sometimes presented to poets and athletic prizes, they were also worn to sacrifices and banquets. As opposed to laurel wreaths, myrtle signified victory from a bloodless battle. | In Christianity, after losing its Greco-Roman association with female sexuality, myrtle came to be an emblematic symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary. |
| Consummation | Oedipus's promised final rest. | The completion of a goal, the fulfillment of a desired outcome, and/or marks the arrival of something. For example, the Consummation the Kingdom is the arrival of Jesus Christ, when this world becomes the Kingdom of God on earth, death for all of the dead is abolished, and all the dead will be raised in Christ. |
| Curse | Rituals and worship of the "primitive" gods of the underworld (as opposed to a misleading triumphalist evolutionary model that elevates Zeus and the worship of the sky gods, the Olympian gods). | "...nothing can separate us from God's love" (Romans 8:37-39), and "greater is He that is in us (the Holy Spirit) than he who is in the world (Satan) (1 John 4:4)"; God's blessing eradicates all curses. "Curse" belongs to the demonic realm of voodoo, witchcraft, cults, and pagan worship. |
| Love | Goddess Aphrodite. Eros (Cupid) is the personification of love and its resulting madness/mania. There are six different words for "love" in Greek: eros, agape, philia, storge, philautia, xenia. | Total submission and immersion in the love of God. |
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Check out these resources for additional learning about the history of gospel music and Sophocles!
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The Gospel at Colonus is a fresh reimagination of a Greek play, using music as a powerful storytelling tool. The songs in Gospel serve to drive the plot, access powerful emotions, and bring the audience on a rich journey of conflict, grief, and redemption. These songs help us understand the complex experiences of Oedipus and his family. In this pre-show activity, we invite you to consider the intersection of music and the story of your own family lineage.
Though intended as a pair, the following two sections may be completed separately as desired.
A genogram is a kind of family tree that enables you to get specific about events, relationships, and challenges that have appeared in the branches of your family. Below, you will see two examples of genogram keys: one depicting family members and life events, the other depicting relationships.
Here is an example of a completed genogram. Using the keys above, you can trace the various family members and their relationships to one another.
This Wikipedia page has some helpful keys to use; however, you should feel free to create your own! After you craft your key, begin making your genogram. Consider these questions as you work:
Depending on your approach, your genogram will likely look much more layered than a typical family tree. Consider whether you’d like to engage in a few iterations of this step to explore various elements of your family tree!
What music would soundtrack the life of you or your family tree? Create a playlist. You may choose to use your preferred music app, write your songs on paper, or even add them to your genogram.
As you craft your playlist, consider these questions:
You may also choose to complete this same activity using visual art or colors. Create a family tree mood board on your preferred platform!
