FSU/Asolo Conservatory opens its season with Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’

There are few plays more deserving of being called a “classic” than “Oedipus.”

One of only seven of Sophocles’ plays to survive in full, and one of only about three dozen complete ancient Greek tragedies still available to us, “Oedipus” is perhaps the best known of all. It’s almost universally considered one of the most compelling plays ever written. It’s part political thriller and part psychological mystery. It’s the story of a deeply flawed hero who discovers the awful burden and responsibility of power. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, promises to find the cause of a plague that ransacks the city, only to discover that he himself was deeply complicit in the downfall of his own community.

“Oedpus” starts the 2017-18 season for the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, in a production directed by conservatory director Greg Leaming, and featuring the entire second-year conservatory class. It opens Wednesday and runs through Nov. 19 in the Jane B. Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

“Oedipus,” which is often referred to as “Oedipus Rex,” dates to 429 B.C. Along with “Antigone” and “Oedipus at Colonus” (a sequel of sorts to “Oedipus Rex”), it constitutes the Sophoclean “Theban plays.”

Details: Nov. 1-19, Cook Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $30 standard, $24 military, $15 student. 941-351-8000, asolorep.org

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 4:23 PM with the headline "FSU/Asolo Conservatory opens its season with Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’."