Alcestis Ascending News & Features

Through text, movement, and live rock-infused music, Alcestis Ascending spins a thrilling tale of fate, self-absorption, sacrifice, and the redemptive power of love. King Admetus and his wife Alcestis see their picture-perfect lives shatter when news arrives that Admetus’ thread has run out on the wheel of Fate. If the King can find a willing replacement to take his place, he lives; if not, he dies. Admetus’ initial relief gives way to terror as, one by one, every option fails. The veneer of his life strips away, revealing the tenuous, conditional “love” around him, and the seething cowardice within — a narcissism so powerful, he doesn’t blink when Alcestis offers to take his place. Realizing his grave mistake, the King sets out to rescue his wife with his dim, hunky friend Hercules to battle the bony specter of Death, Cerberus the three-headed hound of Hell, and the dark lord Hades himself. Ultimately, Admetus is left combat the most terrifying force in the Universe — his own crippling self-absorption.