Medea
Medea, based on the ancient myth of Medea and Jason, first produced in 431 BC, is one of the most celebrated plays of Euripides. The plot centers on Medea's deliberations and actions as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened when her husband betrays her for another woman. As a barbarian, Medea is a foreigner in Greece. When her husband abandons her she faces the loss of her entire family and her place in society. In Euripides version, she ultimately murders her husband's mistress and their own children, sacrificing her happiness in order to destroy him completely.
The play has been performed for centuries, continually bringing fresh interpretations to its universal themes of revenge and justice in an unjust society.
The score to this production, staged by the Concordia College theater department under the direction of David Wintersteen, seeks to articulate the complexity of Medea's interior world. It highlights the continual struggle between her anguish and rage and the terrible weight of her final decision.