"Penelope" - by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz - Lyric Stage Company (Boston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Aimee Doherty* as "PENELOPE" with Dan Rodriguez on piano, in the new musical by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, now playing at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, MA. until March 1, 2026. Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“I am a woman of many sorrows...I only grieve..."
- ("Penelope") / Homer (From "The Odyssey")
Lyric Stage Company
Presents Alex Bechtel's
"PENELOPE"
Music, Book, and Lyrics by Alex Bechtel
Book by Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz
Directed by Courtney O’Connor°
Music Direction by Dan Rodriguez†
Cast Includes: Aimee Doherty* as “Penelope” and Liliane Klein* as Understudy and Performing the role of “Penelope” on February 28 at 8:00pm.
Additional Creative Team:
Assistant to the Music Director - Rocco Santo Pietro; Scenic Design - Janie E. Howland**; Costume Design - Mikayla Reid; Lighting Design - Karen Perlow**; Sound Design - Alex Berg; Props Artisan - Lauren Corcuera; Production Stage Manager - Thomas M. Kauffman*; Assistant Stage Manager - Al Shea DiBiase; Wardrobe Supervisor - Roisin Daly; Audio Supervisor/A1 - Zachariah Rosenbaum; A2 - Jo Williams; Head Electrician - Gabriel Goldman.
Musicians:
Marissa Licata - violin; Ethan Wood - viola; Kett Lee - violincello; Josh Goldman - percussion; Ben Swartz - substitute violincello (2/11, 2/14 and 2/25 evenings)
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
** Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE
° Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
† Member of AFM Local 9-535
Performances:
February 6, 2026 through March 1, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
All performances to be held at LYRIC STAGE OF BOSTON, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA. 02116
TICKETS:
Contact the Box Office at # 617-585-5678 or go to lyricstage.com
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Lyric Stage Company presents the captivating musical "PENELOPE," based upon the heroine from Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
Told and sung from the perspective of Odysseus’s wife, "PENELOPE" is billed as a contemporary one-woman musical but truly the musicians involved in this production are too integral to the musical's success to be relegated to the background.
Truly this musical does a magnificent job reimagining the tale of "PENELOPE" and her arduous experience waiting for her beloved husband Odysseus to return home from battle…
…and waiting…and waiting…and…
(Photo: Backed by musicians Marissa Licata on violin, Ethan Wood on viola, Dan Rodriguez on piano and Kett Lee on violincello (with Josh Goldman back stage on percussion) Aimee Doherty* is "PENELOPE," a musical by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, now playing at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, MA. until March 1, 2026. Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)
Performed on a Lyric Stage set of a simple, contemporary and picturesque lanai, the new musical contains a pleasing book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, with music and lyrics by Bechtel.
"PENELOPE" evolved out of a digital album project by Bechtel between 2020 and 2023.
According to Bechtel’s website, the musical story of "PENELOPE" began as a writing project at the start of the pandemic.
On the site it is states:
“Forced to quarantine hundreds of miles from his romantic partner, he found comfort and healing in writing songs from the point of view of 'PENELOPE' - Odysseus’ waiting wife in Homer’s ‘Odyssey.’”
In 2023, the show debuted at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.
In Philadelphia, the show would receive four Barrymore nominations, including one for Best Musical.
(Photo: Aimee Doherty* as "PENELOPE," by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, now playing at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, MA. until March 1, 2026. Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)
Now, in Boston in 2026, the Lyric Stage Company production stars Aimee Doherty as "PENELOPE" who speaks and sings directly to us non-stop for nearly 90 minutes, supported by the phenomenal musical quintet, led on piano by Music Director Dan Rodriguez.
As beautifully staged by Lyric Stage Company director Courtney O’Connor, the story of "PENELOPE" focuses on themes of longing and anguish over a loved one missing for over a decade.
There is also a strong element of empowerment as "PENELOPE" rules in her husband’s absence, moving away from the iconic mythical Greek saga.
The show also focuses on her fortitude and endurance against the onslaught of unwelcome “suitors” who seek to usurp Odysseus’ rule by marrying "PENELOPE," which (at least for this time period) she feels compelled to consider if only for the sake of her people.
If only…
(Photo: Marissa Licata on violin in the musical "PENELOPE," by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, now playing at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, MA. until March 1, 2026. Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)
While brief, the overall score by Bechtel is complex at times, firmly allowing for the integration of the musicians into the scenes, communicating with Doherty, and they all do so splendidly.
The Book by Bechtel, McLean and Steinmetz, also brief, is concise and does not try to overtell or overwrite the saga of "PENELOPE."
There are quite a few moments where one might sense some uncomfortably long, belabored dramatic pauses – not only in the text but in the score.
However, thanks to the dominating and skilled performance by Doherty, any sense of belabored pauses is quickly dismissed as she makes them serve to heighten the tension while the story of "PENELOPE" unfolds.
Musical numbers include the show’s gorgeous “Overture,” the “Drunk Iliad,” “Tired of Faith,” “Pilgrim’s Song” and “Resolution.”
(Photo: Aimee Doherty* as "PENELOPE" with Dan Rodriguez on piano, in the new musical by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, now playing at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, MA. until March 1, 2026. Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)
"PENELOPE" continues at Lyric Stage Company until March 1st, 2026 and if the pathos does not get to you, the breathtaking score certainly shall.
Up next at Lyric Stage Company will be “ANGRY, RAUCOUS, AND SHAMELESSLY GORGEOUS” by Pearl Cleage, beginning March 20th, 2026 and running through April 12th, 2026.
For more information and tickets, contact the Lyric Stage Company Box Office at # 617-585-5678 or go to lyricstage.com.
BUY TICKETS
Approximately 85 minutes with no intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
The story you thought you knew, told by the woman who lived it.
A generous glass of bourbon, a five-piece band, and ninety minutes is all "PENELOPE" needs to tell her side of the story as she embraces her heartache, loneliness, and resolve during the wait for her husband Odysseus to return from a seemingly endless war.
Her son has disappeared.
Relentless suitors prance before her.
Days drone on as she is left to wonder who she is if she is alone.
From jazz to folk to indie rock, "PENELOPE" dishes the dirt in a captivating cacophony of emotions that redefines what we might know of her through a modern lens.
ABOUT THE LYRIC STAGE OF BOSTON
Founded in 1974 and in residence at 140 Clarendon Street since 1991, THE LYRIC STAGE OF BOSTON is Boston’s oldest resident theatre company. Our mission is to produce and present live theatre in Greater Boston with an intimate approach that promotes inclusivity and connection. THE LYRIC STAGE leads an effort to integrate live theater and theater education into the lives of all residents of greater Boston.
140 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA. 02116
# 617-585-5678
