Greek Tragedy in St Cecilia Hall

After choosing Shakespearean comedies for the last several years’ spring plays, the thespians of Thomas Aquinas College, California, opted for Greek tragedy this year, performing Euripides’ The Trojan Women Saturday night in a packed St. Cecilia Lecture & Concert Hall.

The play, directed by Peter King (’24) with extensive choreography from Claire Rea (’25) and technical direction from Dillon Tuli’au (’24), takes place in the immediate aftermath of The Iliad. Queen Hecuba, played by Erin McCarty (’27), reckons with the horrors of war alongside the other women of Troy as they wait to be separated and taken to distant lands. The action of the play concerns itself with pivotal moments between the story’s players and interludes of striking choreography; graceful and elegant, yet boldly expressive of the Trojan women’s plight. Accompanying the acting was live violin and percussion by Brigid Wassell (’27) and Marianna Favarato (’26), respectively.

“Although a tragedy, it was a joy to direct this,” said Peter. “I cannot say how grateful I am to have worked with this cast and crew; I asked a lot from them, and they were more than generous with their contributions to the show.”