Greetings, lovelies —

PlayCafe is hosting a staged reading of our new comic operetta, FINDING MEDUSA, (Jeff Dunn, music, Madeline Puccioni, libretto) —May 22 @ 7:00 pm (PST) on Zoom  — and we would love it if you could join us!   Some of the Bay Area’s best actors and singers will bring our libretto to life,  and share some of  Jeff’s gorgeous music, which you can access any time on our website:  https://www.findingmedusa.com/scenes

FINDING MEDUSA is light-hearted take on the Perseus/Medusa story — think Clash of the Titans –the good one — 1981.  Young PERSEUS wants to be a great hero like Prometheus, fight tyranny, lift up the poor, and help all mankind– but right now, he must  save his mother, Queen Dana, from the clutches of evil KING POLYDECTES.   ATHENA offers him a chance to be a hero, win a “Glorious Destiny” — fame and immortality,  and “all the gold a hero can hold”—and she will protect his mother.  All he has to do is slay the monster Medusa, bag her head, and give it to Athena. But what kind of hero will he become, if he slays Medusa and her sisters, and betrays a woman who loves him? Is this the “glorious destiny” he wants? Is this “glorious destiny” worth risking his honor –and his life?FINDING MEDUSA started out as a half-hour spoof for the San Francisco Olympians Festival some years ago, and is now an 80 minute operetta, in the final stages of development. It is still a romantic comedy with a big heart, lots of laughs, and some universal themes:

1. Love never dies; it goes to Argos and runs a pub.
2. What is a hero, anyway? Does a hero have to be a warrior? A winner? A bully? A guy?

Perseus learns that maybe a hero is someone who will sacrifice  his/her life to care for others. Help others in their time of need. Rescue damsels in distress. And much of FINDING MEDUSA is silly and wildly improbable.  (Greek Mythology, right?)   There’s a talking donkey, a couple of ancient cannibal cuties, and Zeus’ Big Black Book, a few lightning bolt battles and some pub-grub. And who, exactly, is making pretty Pammy all fluffy? 🙂  

Please RSVP  YESSSS!    to me by Thursday, May 18, and I  will send you the zoom link for the reading.  I so hope you can join us! Mpuccioni@gmail.com

cheers

Madeline