Upstarts Adapting Milton's Paradise Lost

Upstart Creatures

The Milton List received a notice from a group of actors and actresses who plan an adaptation of Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost, with the performance to take place on May 4, 2013 in New York City:

I am a graduate of Yale and I wanted to let you know about an upcoming performance that The Milton Society may be interested in. Back in December, I, along with 25 other artists, began working on a theatrical adaptation of John Milton's Paradise Lost. The group of actors includes both newcomers and Broadway veterans. It was a daunting challenge, but under the direction of our fearless leader, Juilliard alum Michael Barakiva, we've been meeting regularly to abridge the epic poem into a fully palatable extravaganza for the stage. Now, six months later, we're ready to share the fruits of our labor with a concert reading on May 4th in New York City. We would love to share this event with you and we hope you may be able to contact your members. Please email me with further questions. Here is a link to our site.

That was sent from Lauren Coppola, one of the actresses, and because I'm interested in adaptations of Paradise Lost, I clicked on the link she provided and found the photograph above, along with these words:

The Upstart Creatures formed in December of 2012 to adapt John Milton's Paradise Lost for the stage. We are a group of artists that share the desire to create an epic experience, feeding our audience's body and soul. The current phase of our adaptation will culminate in a day-long concert reading of our adaptation, complete with two meals that will be prepared and served by the company on Saturday, May 4th in a church in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Food, you say? And not forbidden? Truly not? Twice? Sounds tempting. Plane fare is a bit steep for my tastes, though I'm sure I'd love the Upstarts' far-above-plain fare, but perhaps someone in New York City -- say Terrance Lindall -- could find time to attend and even report back.

Meanwhile, there's always this other adaptation of Milton, available here.