2 theater groups combine for night of Greek tragedies A play and an opera will explore what happens after the fall of Troy.

By LAURIE M. FISHER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The drama of ancient Greece is as timely as tonight's newscast, according to David Vosburgh, director of the Actors' Project.
Two local theater groups will explore the themes of love and war when they join forces at 8 p.m. Saturday to perform the play "The Trojan Women" by Euripides and opera "Dido and Aeneas" by Henry Purcell.
"The Trojan Women" story is as timely as when it was written in 416 B.C., said Vosburgh . In its third season, the Actors' Projects presents several plays per year, usually staged at the McDonough Art Museum on the campus of Youngstown State University.
Vosburgh learned that Jon Simsic, director of the local choral and chamber orchestra group Seraphim, planned on staging "Dido and Aeneas." The two directors decided to collaborate on an evening of Greek tragedies.
Vosburgh said he utilized the adapted play by Euripides as an exercise in voice and movement at a class at YSU. Several students from his class have roles in the 40-minute play.
Story lines: The play is the Helen of Troy story, he explained. "How timely it is now. The play is about what happens after a war when the women and children are left behind in ruins."
The story of the Greek opera "Dido and Aeneas" continues the story of Helen of Troy. The three-act opera by Henry Purcell is accompanied by a string quartet and harpsichord. YSU faculty member Alan Mosher will perform the solo of Aeneas, a Trojan Prince. Misook Yun sings the role of Dido, Queen of Carthage.
"The character of Dido is indeed a complex one," explains Simsic in the program notes. "Possessor of fame and fortune, her fear and angst chokes off her life of promise. Faced with great opportunity, Dido instead resigns herself to a dismal fate, literally of her making."
The performance will begin at 8 p.m. at Boardman Western Star Lodge, 8387 Tod Ave., located off McClurg Road behind the Boardman Township Government Center. Tickets are $15 per couple. For more information or reservations, call (330) 898-3620.
Free performances of "The Women of Troy" will be at 3 p.m. at the McDonough Museum on March 17 and 24.