'Voyage to Lesbos' will embark tonight

The Five Lesbian Brothers, an all-women's theater collective from New York City, will present Voyage to Lesbos II tonight as part of the Women's Theatre Festival. Described as a "hot, sticky, funny kind of comedy," Voyage to Lesbos II is set in the fictional town of Lesbos, Illinois where five lesbians try to cope in the predominantly heterosexual world during the late 1950s. "It's about five women who can't help being lesbians, but have no positive lesbian role models," said group member Lisa Kron. "They're struggling against a very difficult situation and reacting in very different and painful ways." "It's definitely a black comedy," Kron added. "It's a mood piece full of short staccato bursts of black humor, dealing with very black emotion and sexuality." In addition, the show focuses on what the New York Native dubbed "the mythical power of the phallus." "The phallus represents society and heterosexual culture," said cast member Peg Healey. "In that sense, it's a very important part of our show." The Five Lesbian Brothers is made up of five members from the WOW Cafe, a theatre collective based in New York's East Village, currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. Recently the WOW Cafe won an Obie Award from the Village Voice for "sustained excellence." "The Brothers got together last year because we wanted to work together on a touring project," said Kron. "We wanted to create a show completely collectively, with all of us collaborating on every aspect of the performance." Kron, who will also perform at the festival on Saturday in her solo piece All My Hopes and Dreams, hopes the show will leave the audience thinking. "We want to bring up a lot of issues about lesbians, homosexuality and how we internalize homophobia," she said. Sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance, the Five Lesbian Brothers will perform in conjunction with the Metrotones, an all-female a cappella group from Columbia University. "They're a lot of fun," said College senior Jill Turetsky, who is on the board of the Women's Theater Festival. "They're a feminist group who show women being strong through humor. They don't do traditional stuff -- it's really an alternative kind of a cappella." The show begins at 8 p.m. tonight at the Dunlop Auditorium in the Medical School. Tickets are available at the Annenberg Center ticket office for $5 in advance or for $7 at the door.

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