MC MytholOG - Midas, Medea, Jonah*, ATOWT, Last Gasp, Homeric, Icarus, Murph*, Herc, Orpheus, Dayz*

In this episode, the short comedy, an Apocalyptic Apotheosis, better known as the Herc play, our beloved Olympians, upon the news of Hercules’s incineration, have a spirited conversation about the pluses and minuses of Zeus’s desire to grant his son, not by Hera,  immortality. This could include a throne on Olympus and that unnerves many, as it would upset the divine status quo. But as always, this Olympian discussion quickly devolves into accusations, mostly by the gods, of excessive meddling by Hera during Herc’s 12 labors. Typical phallocratic pack behavior! How will Hera defend herself against these trumped up charges? What was the nature of her meddling in the first place? Is there any justification for these accusations? Once the dust has settled, does Herc actually get deified and become a god? Stay tuned for the resolution of those burning questions and also, arguably, of even more important questions herein - will Hephaestus ever get a clue? what are pants? and, what, pray tell, is a porter?   

Now, before you dive into the play itself, there is a brief introduction and then you will hear the cast introduce themselves, in their own words yet not in any particular order.

As always, embrace the random and unexpected and, specifically in this case [heh-heh, case one good trial deserves another], the dysfunctional and dystractible.

Three revealing bloopers from Herc Play, with short set-ups to scenes.

In these three outtakes the cast is showing signs of Zoom fatigue and testiness. Hermes (Alex Roman) improves on the text itself; Athena (Michaela Downey) lets loose a Greek lapsus linguae; and the extended version of the Hephaestus's (Zack Garrity) epic struggle with Eurystheus.

In response to Demeter (Dame Gretchen Pickart), an overexcited Hephaestus (Zack Garrity) gets a bit tongue tied.

This is an unbelievable tale about a young boy, Billy, and a retired old horse, Murphy, during a dangerous snowstorm.

Billy's younger sister, Addie, has broken her leg falling through some lake ice. Billy, and his father and uncle, must get her to safety as quickly as possible, but where is safety in a blizzard of epic proportions? And what does any of this have to do with the unbelievable Murphy?

Embrace the unbelievable to see how it all begins, and how it all ends.  

In this new and improved version of Act V, Sir Brett Ewer takes on the role of mighty Minos, playing the King of Crete with authority. The story line remains the same, viz.,

This final episode of Icarus, Son of Daedalus is the aftermath to the fall of Icarus - Act V and an Epilogue.

No, Daedalus does not fall, but what does he do after his son’s demise? Does he fly on?

Although he grieves for Icarus, he cannot stop his flight too long as Minos is not happy that his prized engineer has escaped and is in hot pursuit. And so Daedalus, after doing proper rites for his son, flies on to sanctuary with the King of Sicily, Cocalus. Having landed there safely, Daedalus literally hangs up his wings and gives up flying forever and for a charmed moment, finds a degree of safety with Cocalus and his two daughters.

Then, in an unfortunate turn of events, Daedalus’s genius gives himself away by solving the riddle of the shell - in Minos’s own words, he outfoxed the foxy engineer - and Minos reclaims his engineer.

What next? Will sanctuary be respected? Will Cocalus protect his refugee? If not, will Daedalus go willingly? Will his wings stay hung in the temple to Apollo? Will Minos burn the palace to the ground to get back his genius? Can anyone else stand up to Minos?

This final episode of Icarus, son of Daedalus is the aftermath to the fall of Icarus - Act V and an Epilogue.

No, Daedalus does not fall, but what does he do after his son’s demise? Does he fly on? 

Although he grieves for Icarus, he cannot stop his flight too long as Minos is not happy that his prized engineer has escaped and is in hot pursuit. And so Daedalus, after doing proper rites for his son, flies on to sanctuary with the King of Sicily, Cocalus. Having landed there safely, Daedalus literally hangs up his wings and gives up flying forever and finds a degree of safety with Cocalus and his two daughters. 

Then, in an unfortunate turn of events, Daedalus’s genius gives himself away by solving the riddle of the shell- in Minos’s own words, he outfoxed the foxy engineer - and Minos claims his engineer.  

What next? Will sanctuary be respected? Will Cocalus protect his refugee? If not, will Daedalus go willingly? Will his wings stay hung in the temple to Apollo? Will Minos burn the palace to the ground to get back his genius? Can anyone stand up to Minos?

Spoiler alert: Icarus dies!

This is the episode we all know and love (?). With time on their hands in the tower of Crete, Icarus and Daedalus assess their situation and try to figure a way to escape their confinement. Inspiration comes at last, and, despite a few hiccups and some friction between father and son during the process, they make extensive preparations to fly the coop on wings of their own inventing. 

The question remains though: how will Minos react to the escape of his invaluable engineer?

In this episode of Icarus, son of Daedalus, we hear of the consequences of defying King Minos. In Act III Daedalus gets thrown in the maze for his instrumental help satisfying Queen Pasiphae's abnormal desire for the bull from the sea. Icarus, in an unusual fit of loyalty, dutifully joins his father in the maze.  Meanwhile, her desire slaked, Queen Pasiphae herself defies Minos and helps father and son escape the labyrinth, but Minos has been suspicious of Pasiphae for some time, and he catches all three before they can completely escape. Not only for this will there be Hades to pay from Minos, but also for Daedalus’s part in aiding and abetting Princess Ariadne and the hero tribute Theseus when they slew the Minotaur and escaped the labyrinth.  Given all this treachery, can you fault Minos his high dudgeon?  The episode ends as father and son are led to the inescapable tower of Crete, their second and final incarceration.

In this episode of Icarus, son of Daedalus, you’ll hear more backstory as to what led to Icarus and Daedalus being imprisoned in the tower by king Minos. At this point the young Icarus is no longer obsessed with Pasiphae, which is a relief to all, yet he is not quite grounded and is now all hot and bothered for Doula, the maidservant who helped him get over the Queen. 

Pasiphae’s obsession with the bull of Poseidon has definitely not abated, and so she gets Daedalus to work on the infamous invention which will enable her to get with the object of her desire. Having worked hard on this device, Daedalus finally has it ready for the following day and instructs Pasiphae on final details to ensure the successful deception and coupling. 

Surely there will be consequences as all these preparations have not gone unnoticed by, among others, Minos?

Enjoy and embrace, especially here with Icarus, the strange and risqué.