THEATRE + COMEDY

The Classical Theatre Company (CTC) presents the first installment of this year’s Reading Series with a staged reading of an adapted Chinese myth, White Snake. The performance will be presented on Monday, November 21st at 7:00pm at the Brazos Bookstore. A pre and post wine reception and holiday shopping open house will accompany the reading starting at 6:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.

The tale of the White Snake is one of the most popular old legends known in China. Many different versions of the myth exist. The gist of the earliest version of the story is as follows: a young scholar meets a fair maid weeping by the road. She tells him her cruel stepmother has forced her to pick wild mulberries. Unaware that she is a thousand year old white snake that has taken on a human form, the scholar pities her and takes her home to become man and wife. In ten months time she gives birth to a son and their happiness is complete.

But then disaster befalls the man and one night his wife changes back into a long white snake. First devouring their darling child, then biting and killing her husband. The story has evolved throughout Chines history from a horror tale to a romance story, which tells a tale of a scholar and a snake woman who are genuinely in love with each other, but their relationship is forbidden by nature's law.

White Snake is CTC’s first venture into the realm of classical Chinese literature. White Snake will be directed by longtime CTC assistant and recent graduate of the University of Houston Downtown, Miguel Roman. "I'm very excited to be directing at CTC for the first time and hope to create a new and entertaining experience for our Reading Series audience,” says Roman.

The Classical Theatre Company is dedicated to being the preeminent producer of classical theatre in the nation, presenting the classical canon on the stage, in the community, and in the classroom in an engaging, visceral, and visually spectacular way. CTC is the only theatre in the Houston area that offers a reading series, a unique opportunity to present lesser-known works in a non-theatrical setting. Founded by Houston actor and artistic director John Johnston, the CTC “looks to indelibly change the Houston arts community, and strives to be a cultural force in the region for years to come.”

This is the eighth collaboration between CTC and Brazos Bookstore. Brazos is nationally renowned for its author events and locally cherished for its careful, intelligent book selection, Brazos now offers online ordering, as well as a new Brazos Kids' Room for all ages. Located near Rice University, the store maintains an extensive inventory of literary fiction, non-fiction, biography, history, poetry, literary criticism, philosophy, travel, and one of the finest selections of architecture and art books in the region.

Pictured: Chesley and Charles Krohn.