PLAY REVIEW – LYSISTRATA

Robert Cornell –Writer

FSU Theatre Company presented Aristophanes’ Lysistrata April 24th through 27th. The play is based off of Aristophanes’ classic comedy, but features a fresh take on the play by having it focus on the modern military with a flash of soul and a raunchy vibe of the Vegas strip. The story takes place in the desert around Las Vegas and the treasury of Fort Acropolis during a time of war. 

In the play, a woman named Lysistrata and several other women meet to talk about how sad they feel about their husbands being off at war and decide to do something to end war. The women devise a plan to refuse to have sex with the men until they sign a peace treaty to end the war. The women then take to barricading themselves inside the treasury of Fort Acropolis, not letting the men enter until the peace treaty is signed. So the lonely husbands and lovers are then inflamed with lust for the women over the course of the play. Eventually, both the men and the women agree to sign a treaty and end the war. Then both sexes commence to celebrate their newfound sense of peace.

While the play is not exactly like the original play, it does provide plenty of laughs and entertainment. Plus Lydia Williamson and Shabazz Davis’s performances of Lysistrata and Magistrate #1, respectively, were done well.