“War, huh, yeah” It’s Good for Provocative Readings at The Wallis, Oct 7

Well before Norman Whitfield’s iconic song, “War” has been a provocative subject, for me starting with a challenging junior high teacher questioning the romanticism of war stories to finding “the meaning” in my own dad’s absurd Tenth Mountain Division adventures.   Author Bryan Doerries’ captures all of these conceptions, and much more, in his experience engaging military personnel and veterans with the redemptive and therapeutic power of classic Greek plays.

The Theatre of War, Wednesday, October 7,  at The Wallis Annenberg Center, adds acclaimed stage and screen actors Heather Goldenhersh, Alfred Molina, Brian F. O’Byrne and David Strathairn to powerfully illustrate the work.  Just being in the presence of this author and actors alone is worth the price of admission ($25-35).

Doerrie’s recently released book, The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today, is published by Alfred A. Knopf along with a volume of his translations of ancient Greek tragedies, entitled All That  You’ve Seen Here is God.  

Theater of War’s mission is to present readings of Sophocles’  Ajax and Philoctetes to military and civilian communities across the United States and Europe.   To date, over 300 performances of Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes have been performed.

With the use of cathartic Greek plays, Doerrie’s goal is to de-stigmatize psychological injury, increase awareness of post-deployment psychological health issues, disseminate information regarding available resources, and foster greater family, community, and troop resilience.  To this end, Sophocles’ plays  forge a common vocabulary for openly discussing the impact of war on individuals, families, and communities, these events will be aimed at generating compassion and understanding between diverse audiences.

Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts,  9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. For information and tickets, please call (310) 746-4000 or see  www.thewallis.org.