LOS ANGELES -- The world premiere of a World War Two saga of Greek resistance, Ten Stabs for Ten Bullets, will be staged April 24 at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. The run is through May 31.
Written and directed by Angeliki Giannakopoulos, the play is set on the island of Crete and deals with the way the Cretans resisted the German invasion of the island. Woven into the fabric of the narrative is the tale of a Jewish family whose ancestors shared a heritage on Greek soil since 1492, when over 30,000 Jews fled Spain during the inquisition.
"The strength of the human spirit is what I look for when selecting stories to bring to the American public," said Giannakopoulos. "What better example do we have than people helping people, especially when living under extreme conditions. The story of the horrors of World War Two is well known, but the stories of individual unsung heroes may not be. This is what I am after."
Ten Stabs for Ten Bullets is Giannakopoulos' fourth play under the Artemis Productions banner, having previously presented the award-winning A Greek Wedding, Ilya Darling (a musical adaptation of Never on Sunday), as well as Jean Anouilh's Antigone. Giannakopoulos founded Artemis to give voice to myriad Greek stories and themes often familiar to Greeks and Greek-Americans, but unknown to the general public. Her effort to establish a Greek-oriented, English-speaking company has garnered strong support from the Greek- American community in southern California, a large number of whom are active in the entertainment industry. Joining Giannakopoulos are Athan Karras, an award- winning choreographer, and design consultant Elina Katsioula, a three-time Emmy nominee and winner of three Drama-Logue Awards.
The cast includes Daniel Alexander, Paul Bagdisarian, Daniel Fern, Anna Giannoulis, Zuhair Haddad, Paul Hayes, David Hussey, Adoni Maropis, Don Mizrahi, Sue Ozeran, Christina Sekeris, Dagmar Stansova and Dimitri Zorba. Fri. & Sat. at 8 PM, Sun. at 2 & 7 PM at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills. Tickets are $22.50. Call (818) 789-8499.
-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent
