Charles Mee’s spectacular play Big Love, a 21st century adaptation of Aeschylus’s The Suppliants, follows the journey of three, out of fifty, sisters who are fleeing the forced mass wedding to their fifty male cousins in Greece. They arrive in Italy at a family’s lavish veranda, where they meet a businessman, his elderly mother, and his nephew. During their time there, the characters confront topics such as women’s rights, gender politics, immigration affairs, lgbtq+ issues, and larger questions such as the ethics of justice and how love might function within this dialogue as a whole. These issues in 2018 America are unfortunately, as quoted by the play’s Thyona, “all too usual” following the Kavanaugh hearings, ongoing threats of a wall, legal rights being stripped from women and indigenous peoples, and the many other, equally important, injustices perpetrated against those who are oppressed in this country and world.

 

And yet,

Big Love

Graciously offers

An alternative—

How one might choose to

Live,

Wholeheartedly,

Amidst the injustice.

 

And so,

Because of its relevance,

I had the privilege of engaging

With those who will function in our world

In a new light

As early as next year—

The production’s seniors.

 

To inquire

In a word,

In a phrase, or

In a sentence,

Why do we need Big Love now?

“We need Big Love in this world because it presents and simultaneously shatters clichés regarding gender and sexuality.” Matthew Schetina as Constantine

“We need Big Love to fuel our joys, to offer a lifeline out of our hopelessness, and to constantly remind us that the human experience is one mired in confusion and sorrow for everyone who walks this earth.” Anthony Reale as Leo

“Big Love is filled with heart and joy, but more than that, it resounds with the deafening battle cries of powerful, resilient, nasty women; we need these cries more than ever right now.” Madison Wray as Eleanor

“because Love trumps all” Dani Schlenker as Lydia

“We need Big Love right now because the only way we can offer change is through big, extraordinary love.” Emma Cooper as the production’s dramaturge

Big Love is directed by Chris Petit and will be showing in The Freimann Studio Theater October 18-20th & 26th-28th.   Buy your tickets online or at the Harper Joy Theater Box Office, located on Whitman College campus, and open Monday through Friday from 12 – 4 p.m.

See you there!

*Mature Content Warning: Big Love contains violence, partial nudity, and mature themes and language. The production is not intended for children.