A scene from "Atlantis" (Photo courtesy Virginia Repertory Theatre)
What if you wash up on the shores of a place a few days prior to its destruction?
This is the question raised by Virginia Rep’s “Atlantis: A New Musical,” opening tonight and running through May 5. The myth of the island-continent of Atlantis has beguiled many ever since Greek philosopher Plato (429-347 BCE), who in his late career mentioned Atlantis in a way likely intended as metaphorical and poetical rather than historical.
Which gets us right to this production and the theme prevalent in fantasy and speculative fiction of a great civilization and its collapse.
Still, if the composition below is any indication, this should be both an ending and a beginning, as Antoniette Comer, portraying Maya, sings the music of “Atlantis,” composed by Matthew Lee Robinson.
“Atlantis” arrives with a boatload of talent, starting with a Broadway-experienced production team. The show comes to Richmond through special arrangement with “Peter and The Starcatcher”’s Greg Schaffert and Glass Half Full Productions and the Muriel McCauley Fund for New Plays and Contemporary Theatre. (McCauley was a co-founder of the Barksdale Theatre.)
The show’s director is Kristin Hanggi (Tony Award nominee in 2009 for “Rock of Ages”) and choreography by Virginia Rep Associate Artistic Director Kikau Alvaro. The large cast is filled with some familiar Richmond faces — and voices, including Katrinah Carol Lewis (Cleo), Susan Sanford (Peria), Derrick Jaques (Chilon) , and Debra Wagoner (Lotti). (For the entire creative team, see here.)
With this kind of talent, the show should be able to take you into another world. Before it ends.