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I'd also be grateful for any help you might give in connecting me with people with similar interests. I have a strong grasp of the novel and am confident that I can write the text and the lyrics. However, I have no musical background and need a partner who can write the composition and the score. Someone with experience producing musicals wouldn't hurt, either. ;-)
I hope that the prospect of expressing a Homeric epic in modern song excites you as much as it does me. Enjoy!
The Odyssey is a rich multi-layered epic, written simultaneously for varied audiences. On the face, it is a tale of high adventure, as Odysseus braves mythical dangers to return to Ithaka and then defeats the suitors plaguing his wife and home. It is also a love story, about the faithfulness of Penelope and the long-sought reunion of the two lovers.
But deeper aspects abound. The Odyssey is at heart a pious fable about the gods and how they proscribe and support man's world. After the fall of Troy, Odysseus' hubris makes him unfit to rejoin human civilization. He must undergo a painful reduction at the gods' hands, naked on a foreign shore with nothing to his name, before regaining his previous station. Odysseus then becomes the tool by which the gods punish the suitors' impious recklessness.
Odyssey: The Musical (OTM) will capture this many-faceted gem. On the surface, it will be a lively romp, entertaining and engaging. But scratch that surface and below is a wonderland of deeper meanings and connections, in particular the relationships between man and god, father and son, husband and wife.
The Odyssey can be broken down into four major movements:
Tele convenes a meeting on Ithaka, and then travels, visiting Nestor and Menelaus. The suitors learn of his absence and then plot his assassination on his return.
Odys begs from the suitors, and beats a real beggar in a fight. Learns of the discord in his home. Tele removes the armor from the main hall. Odys and Pene talk, and Eurykleia recognizes him during a footbath. Pene decides to stage a contest for her hand in marriage.
Let's discuss the major thematic elements in the epic that will be included in the production.
Gods, Mortals, and The Greek Mythos
The Argives lived in a divinely crafted bubble of ordered certainty floating
in a sea of chaotic uncertainty that was the ancient Greek world. The gods
gave man civilization, customs, craft: everything that they would need in
order to survive and prosper. Living within this Greek Mythos meant that you
would rise to your station in an orderly way. Flouting these conventions was
"Reckless" and meant that Chaos and Uncertainty could enter your life.
Thus, all thematic elements will be "ordered" by their proximity to divinity, and thus by extension how "right" each element is. Here are some specific areas that will be developed:
Being Faithful
Faithfulness in all its various guises plays a fundamental role in the
Odyssey; in fact, read as a moral text the message of the Odyssey is simple:
keep the faith that things will work out the way they are supposed to. Three
main subthemes are fidelity (wanting only what you are rightfully alloted),
loyalty (acting honorably through proscribed service / custom), and piety
(honoring the hand of the gods in your daily life).
Elaborating by character:
| Fidelity | Loyalty | Piety | |
| Odysseus | It should be made clear that Odys is compelled to sleep with all the various goddesses (Circe, Calypso) and that all he's ever wanted was to be with Penelope. | Odys loyalty will be praised by numerous characters (Nestor, Menelaus, Eumaios, Eutykliea, etc.) | Odys is a pious man that honors the gods well through custom. See below for his breach of faith. |
| Penelope | Pene's main dilemma is that she can't decide what it is proper for her to want. Should she honor Odys' bed or marry a suitor? See below. | In her grief Pene has become lax in her loyalty to maintaining the household. This will be shown in particular in her lack of weaving and hospitality. | Pene is assumed to be a pious woman, though this isn't stressed in the book. |
| Telemachus | Tele is too unselfish and his first major change is to lay claim to what is rightfully his from the suitors. | Tele is uncertain what his role is and how to behave loyally. See below. | Tele becomes pious over the course of the musical, observing others on his travels and then being taught by his father in Gods On Your Side. |
| Odysseus's Shipmates |
The shipmates want more than their fair share, as is demonstrated by the Loot in Aiolus' bag. | The shipmates are disloyal, as will be shown on Circe's island when they disobey Odys. | The shipmates are unpious, as is demonstrated by their breach of custom by eating Helios' kine. |
| Penelope's Suitors |
The suitors are greedy, eating Odys property, and desiring Pene of whom they are not worthy. | The suitors are disloyal; they band together out of mutual fear and lust. | The suitors are reckless, flaunting clear omens from the gods and making light of custom. |
| Unfaithful Maids |
Sleep with the suitors as they please. | Tell the suitor's of Pene's web. | Ignore the signs that they should mend their ways. |
| Eurykleia + Maids |
Remain chaste in the face of the suitor's pressure. | Protect Pene and yearn for Odys' return. | Try to maintain a proper household. |
| Eumaios |
Wants to make sure Tele gets his patrimony, is concerned about the suitors eating it up. | Honors Odys, wishes for his return, supports him in combat. | Maintains a thriving household in microcosm. In fact, his hut will be a shining example of how following the gods' ways works at all levels. |
Here are situations that emphasize the specific themes:
Pene's essential dilemma is she doesn't know whether she should honor Odys or custom (that tells her she should marry).
Tele learns loyalty and becomes a man over the course of the musical.
Odys accepts his impious mistake and realizes his long journey was his own fault.
Just as the literary epic is tightly woven, so too should its musical representation. In particular, the music should be a synthetic creation with the pieces tightly intertwined with each other and their literary counterparts. Here are two concrete examples of this abstract notion.
Divine Descent
In the Odyssey, there is the idea that all mortal craft and skill is gifted
from the Gods. For example, there are explicit references that Odysseus was
saved "by the wits that Athena had given him", or that a bowl was wrought "by
the skill that Hephaestus had given" the smith. In Greek, craft (artistry),
craftiness (intelligence), and craftsmanship (creation) all have the same
root. We see remnants of this in our modern language: a gift is a both
a boon and an ability.
Along these lines there will be four major musical motifs in OTM, each exemplified by some gods and mortals:
| Motif | Sounds like | God(s) | Mortal(s) |
| Justice | Uplifting, solid, divine | Zeus, Athena | Odys, Tele, Kings (Nestor, Menelaus, Alkinoos) |
| Power | Low, menacing, throbbing | Poseidon, Cyclops | Odys (at war), Suitors |
| Travel | Rolling, cowboyesque? | Hermes | Odys, Tele, Pene, Menelaus |
| Craft | Light, bouncy with an edge | Athena, Hephaestus | Odys, Pene, ? |
When mortals express a motif their music should somehow be watered down, incomplete, or less emphatic in some way. When coupled with a god, it should flower into full strength. Gods, by the way, will move about the action of the play freely, most often unseen by the mortals.
Thus, the Suitors song is reminiscent of the Cyclops, which is similar to Poseidon's. Travellers have travellin' music for interludes between scenes (like Tele on his journey, or Odys in the Odyssey). Pene exemplifies Athena's craftiness. Odys is the only mortal that expresses all the motifs, though he will favor Athena's (Justice and Craft).
Harmonious Unity
Another bold enterprise would be to construct these motifs specifically so
that they complement one another. In the Greek world, a single civilization
rests upon many foundations and partakes wisdom from many gods. It is
also well balanced in the sense that there is a place for everything and all
things mesh with one another.
What if we could design these four pieces as the cornerstones of a single master musical work? Each one could stand on its own, but when combined they form the harmonious unity that people will ever-after associate with the musical. This fusion would be the crux of the musical symbolism in OTM.
To illustrate, the first scene is of the gods together, where the unity would be conveyed in full strength. From that, a sharp contrast with the suitors and their reckless tune and the dysfunctional Ithaka. Then a series of scenes with one or more of the musical characters involved, each expressing itself in a slightly different way. The last scene will be the family reunited, where the three will recreate the divine combination in several ways in reprise of earlier songs (Odys - JPCT, Tele - JT, Pene - TC). This last scene will also have the gods in the background fleshing out the other parts as necessary, and will represent in general how Ithaka is whole with the return of its rightful king.
Greek Flavor
In addition to the structural elements, it would also be nice to imbue the
musical with a distinct Greek flavor. This could be through the use of
characteristic instruments (say, the lyre) or by utilizing a Greek Chorus as
part of the drama. Definitely need to give more thought to this.
Within the Odyssey there are several extended storytelling episodes, where characters relate an involved story and then return to the present action. For example, the Odyssey (section 2) is actually Odysseus telling his travels to the court of King Alkinoos. Also, there are many occasions when the gods are zipping through the world from place to place.
Because of this referential quality, there will be two distinct stage areas. One will be a smaller and set slightly higher up, about a quarter the whole stage; the other will take the remainder of the stage. The dual stage setup allows action to occur on one stage while the other is changing sets, reducing the transition time between scenes.
This stage separation can be used in a number of other ways as well. For example, when the Cyclops is tossing rocks at Odysseus's ship, he can be on one stage and the ship on the other, representing the physical separation but still keeping both within the view of the audience. When Tele is travelling between the Argive kingdoms, he can move from the larger stage to the smaller back to the larger with a travelling motif.
Color Coding
Colors are used to represent many things in OTM, from gods and divine
qualities to kingdoms:
| Color | Belongs To | Usage / Represents |
| Sky Blue | Zeus | Justice, pious people |
| Deep Reddish Purple | Poseidon | Power, reckless people |
| Yellow / Gold | Athena | Craftiness, cunning ploys |
| Green | Hermes | Travel |
| Orange | Calypso | |
| Brown | Circe | Sorcery? |
| Silver Blue | Royal People | Pious royalty |
| Gray | Beggars | Odysseus' Disguise |
| White | Spotlight | No meaning; just spotlighting |
| [Blacklight] | Souls / Ghosts | Mainly for underworld scene |
| Bright, shiny whites and multi-colors | Olympos | Hey, it's the source |
| Silver, Gold, with blue and green tints | Ithaka | Initially, muted; once restored, bright and shiny |
| Multi-colored and bright, less shiny | Sheria | Closeness to the gods |
| Silver Blueish, bright, but not shiny | Pylos | Nestor's piety and age |
| Purplish, bright, some sheen, hint of reds | Sparta | Menalaus' power and vigor |
| Dark, muted, reds and grays | Cyclops Cave / Land | Primitive power |
There are two ways that we will employ color coding. The first for costumes and sets. Each place and character will have their own colors. So, for example, every suitor will have something clearly red in his costume to signify their group belief in power. The other colors of the costumes will serve to visually distinguish them and also to differentiate their finer points: Antinoos a deep purple because of lust for killing, Eurymachus some yellow because of his craftiness, Amphinomos some blue because he is the most pious of the suitors, etc.
The second way color will be employed is to clearly mark divine action on stage. Every divinity will be bathed in a spotlight of their own color, and their costumes will also be of that color. This lighting scheme helps us handle three cases: disguises, unseen movement, and magic. When gods take on a mortal disguise a new actor is used but still bathed in the same color light. Whenever gods are in their natural state and light, they are assumed to be unseen by mortals even though they will be right on stage with them. Lastly, by bathing things in colored light we can represent divine magic at work: omens, Circe changing sailors into beasts, Athena influencing the suitors, etc. The lighting will be "explained" to the audience by Athena when she first visits Ithaka and takes on the guise of Mentes.
Visual Effects
Note that this lighting scheme will be heavily leveraged throughout the
play. During Vengeance (the climactic battle scene with the suitors) as
Odysseus pronoucing the suitor's death, the overall level of lighting will
slowly get dimmer. As the same time each of the four gods will stand behind
him in radiant columns of light (if we could have them drop down from
overhead, too, that would be even more dramatic). As the colors are added,
Odys own spotlight will take on more of their colors, until he is a bright
white figure surrounded by the pure colors of the gods and the suitors are in
a gray darkness. Similar lighting is used in the cutscenes that follow, for
example, when Odys pronounces death on the unfaithful maids.
Another place the lighting can be used to great effect: Odys and Pose in Lessons Learned. Not only can the color coding be used here, but also the slow change of light to dark can signify the passage of days. This oscillation between light and dark will be used in other places to denote the passage of days, for example, when Odys is steering home with the Aiolus's bag.
Another visual effect that I'm not certain how to pull off but definitely has to be done is in the Siren Song. The siren should initially start off in the singular, and then as she sings new female bodies should sensuously flow out of her, until she is an undulating mass of female flesh and hair. This scene is about temptation, and the first thing she tries is sex. Then she'll adopt the tactic of learning to entice Odysseus, each of the women then changing from sexpots into panderers of knowledge and secrets. In the third movement she'll realize she can't tempt Odys this way and then a single woman will arise from the mass, Penelope, and the rest of the women will disappear the way they appeared while the Pene figure sings, until only she remains in the singular. This is when Odys will finally "lose it" and demand to his crew to be released.
Following is a sampling of the key songs in OTM indexed by book and how they advance the plot or characterization:
| Song Name | Performers | Main Ideas |
| 1. Foolish Mortals | All the Gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena) | How the gods support man, the foolishness of Agisthos |
| 1. Ithaka In Trouble | Reckless Suitors, Impudent Maids, Forlorn Tele, Non-weaving Pene | Basic situation, first characterization of all involved |
| 3. Homage To The Gods | Nestor, Nestors' sons, Pylos in general | How a proper household / kingdom functions, celebration of feasting |
| 4. Hold On! | Menelaus | Following the gods enables any success, introduce idea of tasks to return |
| 4. Ambush | Suitors | How the suitors will do anything to get what they want, recklessness, disrespect |
| 5. Lessons Learned | Odys and Poseidon | How Odys has finally learned his place, the last test of Poseidon |
| 6. Women's Work | Nausikaa & Handmaids | The place of women as decreed by the gods; in particular, weaving and marriage |
| 7. Celebration | Alkinoos, Arete, Sherians in general | The joy of life, sitting well with the gods, reprise and expansion of Homage to the Gods |
| 9. Power | Polyphemos, other Cyclopes (minor) | Personification of base power, take what you can, there is no consquence (from the gods) |
| 9. The Loot | Shipmates | Envy of Odysseus, how everything always works out for him, establish essential weakness for later Helios kine |
| 10. Magic | Circe and handmaidens, shipmates (minor) | The uncertainty of the world, how everything can change in a blink |
| 11. ? | Shades in the Underworld | Don't know what this could be, but it's too cool an opportunity to pass up ;-) |
| 12. Siren Song | Sirens, Odys, Shipmates | Temptation in it's many forms, how Odys wants to get back home |
| 12. Weaving Plots | Odysseus, Athena | Open reunion between the two, how craftiness prevails |
| 13. Kind Master | Eumaios, boys (minor) | The nobility of service to a kind master, characterizing Odysseus as a good king; Eumaios' past |
| 14. Unwoven | Pene, maids (as background) | Pene's stasis and longing for Odys, her concern for her son |
| 15. Gods On Your Side | Odys and Tele | How all things are possible with divine guidance, beginning of Odys to father Tele |
| 17. Fight! | Suitors, Iros, Odys | Further characterization of suitors as power-mongers, restraint of Odys; tie-in with Power song |
| 18. Scarred | Eurykleia | Loyalty to Odysseus; again, characterizing him as a good king. How Ithaka was scarred when Odysseus did not return. |
| 20. Song Of The Bow | Pene, Maids, Eurekleia | Acceptance of the new life, removal of stasis |
| 21. Vengeance | Odys, Gods (as background), Reckless Suitors, Impudent Maids | How terrible and uncompromising the gods' justice is; have Odys and gods sing simultaneously |
| 22. Test of the Bed | Odys, Pene, Tele (minor) | The secret sign between Pene and Odys, how they are still in love |
| 24. Ithaka United | Odys, Pene, Tele, Gods, Ithakans (as background) | Reprise of Divine Song structure and earlier songs. Wounds are healed, the skein is woven, all is complete and as it was ordained to be. |
Gods
Scene / Plot Breakdown by Book
Telemachy
Book 1
Book 1, Scene 1: Mount Olympus The gods are shown in their full glory, singing the Foolish Mortal song. The song describes the folly of Aigisthos in slaying Agamemnon and the retribution of Orestes. Soon after the song ends, Poseidon announces that he is going to leave for Ethiopia to share in some hekatombs there. Athe then proposes to let Odys return to his home on Ithaka. Zeus and the other gods agree. Zeus sends Herm to tell Caly to free Odys. Athe then says she'll prepare Tele and Ithaka for his homecoming. Book 1, Scene 2: Odys' Home in Ithaka The scene opens with a raucus view of the suitors and the maids. Suitors are gambling and groping the maids, and in general are out of control. The song Ithaka In Trouble describes the basic state: the suitors want Pene, Pene feels conflicted, and Tele doesn't know what to do. Athe takes guise of Mentes and is greeted by Tele She eats and comments on the suitors Tele describes basic problem: Odys's fate is unknown He describes proper customs (i.e. marrying from father's house) Athe finishes eating and Tele says: enough of me, what of you, are you old friend, etc. Athe replies she is Taphian King Mentes, families are old friends Then advises to convene a meeting and then travel abroad to Pylos, Sparta to get news of his father Then makes a fast exit over Tele's protests, becomes a bird, and Tele believe he's been in the presence of a god All the while the two are talking, Phemios has been singing about the Trojan war. Should sing about Athena and her warrior aspect. Pene appears and chastise Phemios for singing of Trojan War. Tele chastises her; others were lost in the war. She leaves for her weaving. Tele tells the suitors to go Anti and Eurym ask who the visitor was. Tele says old family friends, reiterates request to go Book 1, Scene 3: The Meeting Ground in Ithaka Hali opens by asking who called the meeting Tele stands forth and states his private case Anti rebuffs and tells of Pene's web and her deception Birds fly over Hali declares an omen and warns the suitors Odys is going to kill them Eurym tells him to shut up Mentor calls shames on the populace of Ithaka Leocritus says not to threaten them, they have strength by far After the meeting Mentor and Tele talk and Mentor says he'll get Tele a ship RANDOM SCENE STUFF - Phemios singing in background for suitors of various things - Helen pouring drugs into the wine with no mention otherwise
A good poetic translation of Homer's Odyssey is the Robert Fitzgerald edition published by Anchor Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-05040-2. It's also my personal favorite that I draw from most heavily. Other translations include:
I've also written several papers on the Odyssey that talk about different aspects of it. Here's a couple of must reads:
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