Back to The Frogs on Broadway

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ACT ONE

The Frogs Synopis( from the OBC recording booklet)An orchestral FANFARE heralds the appearance of two actors in ancient Greek garb. Standing in front of a show curtain of a present day theatre, they sip martinis and instruct the audience on the ancient and not-so-ancient rules of behavior in the theatre(INVOCATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AUDIENCE.)

As the show curtain rises a Greek Chorus tells us the title of the evening's performance: The Frogs, a play by Aristophanes. Written in 405 B.C. It is one of the eleven extant"old comedies" by Aristophanes, who wrote loosely plotted stories with songs, dances, slapstick, spectacle and commentary that revealed the author's opinions on comtemporary topics. As the chorus muses the instability of Athenian society and the raging Peloponnesian War, an earth-shattering explosion sends them running from the stage.

Out of the cataclysm, Dionysos, The Greek God of Wine and Drama, emerges from the smoke with his faithful slave Xanthias. Feeling abandoned by society's leaders, Dionysos resolves to save the world from impending castastrophe by journeying to Hades to bring back a brilliant writer George Bernard Shaw, who can give comfort to the people in troubled times. Dionysos fears only one thing: the frogs. "Slimy, ugly, disgusting nuisances" with narrow points of view.

Dionysus and Xanthia's journey begins(I LOVE TO TRAVEL). The first stop: The House of Herakles, the great warrior and half brother of Dionysos, who proposes the best way to surive the treacherous trip(DRESS BIG). Then Dionysus( disguised in one of Herakle's loinskins)and Xanthias continue on to the River Styx( I LOVE TO TRAVEL reprise). At the dock the boatman Charon prepares them for the crossing to Hades( ALL ABOARD).

As the boat begins its slow descent(ON THE RIVER STYX). Dionysus inquires about the frogs he has heard inhabit the river. In an effort to take Dionysos's mind off such matters, Xanthias aks about his wife and Dionysos relates the story of their marriage(ARIADNE). As Xanthias and Charon nap in the boat the frogs suddenly appear. One by one, they leap across the lily pads and gather at the boat, ready to attack(THE FROGS). The frenzy builds as the frogs become more aggressive, taunting Dinysos into becoming one of them. As Xanthias awakens, the biggest frog of them all pulls Dionysos into the muddy dark river.

ACT TWO

As the seond act begins Dionyos, climbs back on the boat drenched and covered with weeds, still quiverring from his horrible confrontation with the frogs. Undaunted, Charon steers them to the dock in Hades, where Dionysos and Xanthias disembark. Three Graces descend from on high into an orgy of Dionysian worshippers(HYMN TO DIONYSOS), but Xanthias reminds Dionysos of their mission, and they continue to the Palace of Pluto.

Aeakos, keeper of the keys to the palace, sees Dionysos in his Herakles disguise and vows vengeance on the god who slew the three-headed watchdog of Hades. As Xanthias, at Dionysos's urging, dons Herakles suit, they encounter Charisma, the beautiful handmaiden to Persephone. Mistaking Xanthias for Herakles, she invites him to a sensuous bath in hipppotamus milk. Tantalized Dinysos takes back the lionskin and encounters Virilla, Queen of the Amazons, who accuses Dionysos( dressed again as Herekles)of stealing the girdle of her leader Hippolyte.

At the height of all the confusion, Pluto enters, surrounded by the flames of Hades. Dionyus sheds his Herakles disguise, and Pluto welcomes the god with open arms, disavowing him of the misconception that Hades is a dangerous place(HADES).

Dionysos tells Pluto of his plan to bring Shaw back to earth, and Pluto reveals that all the dead playwrights --from Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Chekov--are banqueting at his palace at that very moment. As Pluto and Dionysos discuss the dire situation on Earth, the Greek Chorus offers and ironic commentary to the audience: though serious matters are being weighed onstage, there is no cause for alarm( IT'S ONLY A PLAY).

Following the banquet, Dionysos bursts out of the palace to proclaim the entrance of George Beranrd Shaw(SHAW). And his loyal passel of Shavians. When William Shakespeare emerges from the palace, the philosophical tension between the two titans escalates swiftly untill they almost come to blows. Dionysos diffues the situation by declaring a contest between the two playwrights. Each will adress the important issues of humanity using only the words of his own writings.

The suopporters of Shaw and Shakespeare assemble into an arena where the verbal battle begins. Dionysos, high in his referee's chair, calls out the topics: first woman, then man, then the Life Force. Shaw and Shakespeare are pointed in their responses, Shaw approaching his orations with his customary intellect and Shakespeare with his poetic metaphors.

Grappling for a final topic( and concerned whether the people of earth will accept Shaw's rigorous social views). Dionysos calls a time-out. Suddenly his deceased wife Ariadne appears, comforting her husband and advising him to follow his heart. Looking lovingly into Dionysos's eyes, Ariadne assures him that the final topic is "staring you in the face."

The contest resumes, and Dionysus announces the final topic:Death (THE CONTEST). Shaw responds with a stirring passage from Saint Joan, and the crowd is hushed. Then Shakespeare speaks of death from an old man's point of view. Dionysos, wanting to hear more asks him to speak of a young man's feelings (FEAR NO MORE). The powerful poetry moves Dionysos to declare Shakespeare the winner and offer him passage to earth. A disgruntled Shaw is dragged kicking and screaming from the stage, As Charon the boatman announces the trip back to earth( ALL ABOARD reprise). Xanthias, who has elected to remain in Hades with the Amazon Virilla, bids his master farewell, as the voices of Ariadne and the chorus accompany his trip home (HYMN TO DIONYSOS reprise). Dionysos and Shakespeare arrive back on earth at the same theatre as the prologue. Dionyos beckons Shakespeare to speak, and the playwright responds by calling for a new play to be written to inspire humanity. As the entire company is revealed, Dionysos steps foward and addresses the audience(FINAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AUDIENCE). He urges us to shake or lethargy, to take action to resolve the earthly problems that plague our times. And with that, his mission is complete.

-Ira Weitzman

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