Review: Penelope. Based on Writings in The Odyssey by Homer. Music, Lyrics & Arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, Eva Steinmetz. Directed by Kelly Kitchens. Music Direction by Mathew Wright. With Chelsea LeValley. Onstage at ArtsWest Playhoure from November 29-December 19, 2025.
Homer’s The Odyssey is very, very old but it’s also still very, very hot. People keep on reading it, and translating it, and turning it into new things, including a big upcoming movie from Christopher Nolan starring all sorts of ridiculous people like Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway and Zendaya. It’s also been recently turned into a solo piece musical called PENELOPE which unsurprisingly centers on the wife of the exasperating Odysseus, and her 20 year long wait for his return from fighting the Trojan Wars which was about an hour long plane flight away but it somehow took him two decades to get back home due to “circumstances” like stopping to have an affair or two.
The musical Penelope features our beleagured heroine on her final day of waiting for the scoundrel to get home and she has some things to get off her chest musically speaking. It’s just her, on the stage, with 5 backing musicians, singing her little heart out about her long wait which has included dealing with hordes of “suitors” who want to marry the wealthy and powerful “widow” of Odysseus. She’s also coping with grief, anger, hope, and the love she still carries for him.
In short, it’s a short musical about every topic ever discussed on an episode of Oprah…
The musical was born out of the desperate Covid times when theater artist/music composer Alex Bechtel was separated from his “romantic partner” (and, apparently a relationship that was crumbling before the pandemic) who began crafting songs from the point of view of Penelope and her issues with separation anxiety and yearning for lost relationships and waiting for some kind of resolution. It became an album of music, then collaborating with Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, it become this short piece of solo musical theater.
It’s a sweet piece; a valentine to those who wait, but it’s also the kind of theater you need to be in the mood to experience. It’s moody…it’s reflective…it has moments of great charm and also moments of sadness. It could be very empowering to the right person. But, also a tad uninvolving to another if you’re not into 75 minutes of musical introspection.
It’s lovingly performed by the gifted local Seattle actress Chelse LeValley who gives a terrific performance. The band is very good, too, and you can just enjoy the show as a sweet cabaret act with a through line.
It wasn’t MY cup of tea, but it could be yours!
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
