Lydie Breeze, Part II: Aipotu
By John Guare
Directed by Lane Savadove
Music by Jay Ansill & Cynthia Hopkins
A utopian experiment is on the brink of failure until an old friend shows up with a gift... or is it a curse?
Lydie, Joshua, Dan, and Amos settle on Nantucket to create a Utopian commune to heal the scars of war. Aipotu will become a beacon for a new America. Faced with the realities of communal living – What will we do for money? Who’s turn to tend to the baby? Where is the cow? – each member grapples with their commitment to Aipotu and each other. Can an unexpected treasure from a dubious source save them, or do the fractures within the group run too deep? As America searches for its new post-war identity, this makeshift family must make room for their inner demons to find a new path.
Featuring: Melanie Julian, Charlie DelMarcelle, David Girard, Ed Swidey, Kylie Westerbeck, Hannah Gold, Jonas Parker, Mark Knight, Andrew J. Carroll, Mark Knight, Amanda Jill Robinson, and Kristy Joe Slough.
Direction: Lane Savadove
Music Direction & Composition: Jay Ansill
Additional Composition: Cynthia Hopkins
Scenic Design: Marketa Fantova
Costume Design: Marie Anne Chiment
Lighting Design: Mike Inwood
Stage Management: Jamel Baker
Props: Eric Baker, Dane Eissler, Katie Kiessling, & Kelsey Romeo
Dramaturgy: Anne Cattaneo
Production Management: Eric Baker
Associate Direction: Dane Eissler
Assistant Direction: Katie Kiessling
Technical Coordination: Philadelphia Scenic Works
Technical Consultant: Andrew Laine
Costuming: Jamie Grace-Duff
Associate Lighting Design: Amanda Clegg Lyon
Assistant Production Management: Kelsey Romeo
Assistant Stage Manager: Eleanor Safer
Assistant Costume Design: Kierceton Keller
Production Photos: Dave Garrett Sarrafian
“Melanie Julian is magnificent as Lydie Breeze, exuding strength and love even when she is completely broken. Julian embraces Lydie's pettiness and cruelty along with the power of her love and the force of her convictions. The result is a heroine as authentic and compelling as any I've seen on stage.” -Talkin' Broadway
“The two works produced so far by EgoPo Classic Theater display a rough elegance in Guare’s plotting and Lane Savadove’s staging, with a topsy-turvy epic quality that spans decades in the lives of its characters and the evolution of the nation. Once you get into them, you’re fully involved.” -WHYY
