Pat Flaherty and ensemble members in The SuppliantsThis year, Genesius Guild's annual Greek tragedy is a double-feature, as the local theatrical organization presents Aeschylus' The Suppliants and The Persians - two plays for the price of one (which is still free). With each piece running less than an hour, the entire evening's entertainment, even with intermission, falls just short of two hours, giving audiences one partial hour of what frequent Guild patrons expect from the group's Greek tragedies, and one partial hour of some very welcome, though relatively minor, changes.

Greek drama is designed to make audiences think and feel, and while I'm not sure I did much of either at the Saturday-night performances in Rock Island's Lincoln Park, I sure did grin a lot.

Chris Hicks, Bryan Woods, and Rae Mary Regardless of style or genre, entertaining theatre has a way of putting audiences in great moods - I've personally smiled through well-staged productions of such varied, inherently tragic shows as Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire and Hedda Gabler. And despite their seriousness, Genesius Guild's Seven Against Thebes and Antigone were a terrific time; the shows may not have had the knockabout power you hope for from Greek drama, but they certainly were enjoyable.