The Public Theater has announced casting for Todd Almond’s musical adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. Headlining the cast will be Brandon Victor Dixon as Odysseus, who recently starred in Wild Party at New York City Center, and In the Heights star Karen Olivo as Penelope.
The cast will also feature Todd Almond, SNL player Taran Killam (who was recently in New York City Center’s Little Shop of Horrors) as the Cyclops; and Lucan Caleb Rooney as Antinous. The show will feature cameo group performances by The Bobby Lewis Ensemble, The D.R.E.A.M. Ring, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana II, The Marching Cobras, The New York Youth Symphony, and TADA! Youth Theater.
Homer’s “The Odyssey,” written in the 8th century BC, is one of the oldest surviving pieces of Western literature. It tells the story of the Greek war hero Ulysses’s return home after the Trojan War, which covers ten years of wandering after he becomes lost in the Mediterranean sea.
The Public Theater’s Public Works program, now in its third year, creates productions of participatory theater in partnership with community organizations from all five boroughs of New York City. The concept is inspired by the 1900’s movement of civic pageantry, known for blending mass spectacle with community engagement. This year the five Public Works community partner organizations are Children’s Aid Society (Manhattan);DreamYard Project (Bronx); Fortune Society (Queens); Brownsville Recreation Center (Brooklyn); and Domestic Workers United (all boroughs, including Staten Island).
Directed by Lear deBessonet, The Odyssey will run for four nights only, September 4-7. Tickets to The Odyssey are free and will be distributed, two per person, at noon on the day of the show at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park or via the Virtual Ticketing lottery at Public Theater.
