Fedra: Queen of Haiti

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the wickedly dark comedy Fedra: Queen of Haiti, written by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks and directed by Ensemble Member Laura Eason. The Lookingglass Original runs September 30 - November 15, 2009 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

The 22nd season opens with an explosive retelling of the Greek myth Phaedra.  This story of power and desire that was made famous by Euripides, Seneca and Jean Racine is now set in a re-imagined Haiti that stands as the world’s greatest superpower. Only the fiercely mischievous pen of Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks (Black Diamond) could so ignite the hidden power of this enduring classic. Award-winning Ensemble Member Laura Eason (Around the World in 80 Days) directs Lookingglass' 51st World Premiere.

Fedra was adapted by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks, who appeared in Joan Akalatis' Court Theatre production of Phedre in 2002.  Since that time, she has fallen in love with the French language, which influenced the setting of Haiti.  Brooks is a Chicago actor who has been residing in Los Angeles for the past few years and her current hometown informs some of the pop culture elements infused in this combination Greek tragedy/black comedy.

"At the heart of it, Fedra is a story about desire- desire for power, for love, for sex, for freedom, for connection, for home, for the way things were, for the way things can never be.  Desire can drive someone to risk everything in the best possible way and in the worst.  It can lead to ecstasy and exultation or destruction and despair," says Eason.  "I can think of no more exciting a story to explore than one that rips open and digs around in the heart, guts, blood and heat of desire.  Especially when it is an enduring myth with archetypes we relate to and recognize reinvented by the bold, brave and sometimes bawdy pen of J. Nicole Brooks."

Tickets for Fedra: Queen of Haiti are available online, www.lookingglasstheatre.org; by phone, 312-337-0665; or at the Lookingglass Theatre box office, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.