‘Big’ topics confronted in ‘Big Love’ production

Despite what people might think, the play opening Friday at the Wells-Metz Theatre is not about Mormons on HBO, says the play’s director, John Maness.\nWhile the HBO TV series is about a man with three wives, Maness’ “Big Love,” by playwright Charles Mee, is based off an ancient Greek tragedy called “The Suppliant Women,” said Maness, a graduate student. \nIn the play, 50 sisters are being forced by their father to marry their 50 cousins. The women seek asylum from their marriages in Italy, but their husbands-to-be eventually find them, Maness said.\nThe female characters then decide to “take matters into their own hands,” said Melanie Derleth, a junior who plays Lydia in the production. The sisters make a pact to kill their husbands the night before their wedding day, but Lydia decides not to follow the plan, she said. \nEven though the original play was written hundreds of years ago, Mee remade the script for today’s audience, Maness said. \n“Big Love” has a modern setting and language that audience members should find accessible, Derleth said. The female characters, for instance, mention MAC makeup and John Frieda hair products, she said. \nThe play’s plot is basic, but big, controversial ideas rise from its simplicity, Maness said. \nThe show explores complex topics like gender roles, political issues, homosexuality and what love really means, Derleth said. \n“It says what everyone thinks but not what they say aloud,” she said. \nDerleth said she enjoys playing Lydia because she portrays a woman who fluctuates between being an old-fashioned “girly-girl” and a “violent feminist.” \nEvery woman, Derleth said, feels torn between those two roles at some point in their lives. So perhaps the show demonstrates that women don’t have to be one way or the other, she said.\nManess said he hopes the audience comes away from “Big Love” debating the issues the play presents. \n“I wanted the play to challenge the audiences,” he said. “I also wanted a chance to explore something outside of my comfort zone.” \n“Big Love” will show at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Monday, March 26, through Saturday, March 31, at the Wells-Metz Theatre. The production features adult situations and full-frontal nudity.\nTicket prices are $16 for adults and $13 for students, seniors and anyone 30 and younger (discounts Monday through Thursday).