Next Stage, Inc. will refresh an old classic with its production of Back to Antigone.

The updated version of the Sophocles tragedy will run tomorrow through May 4 at the Albright-Bethune United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Beaver Avenue and Burrowes Street.

As one of three main stage productions mounted by Next Stage this year, Back to Antigone is a new English translation of the 1942 French version of the ancient Greek text of Antigone.

Jay Shuchter, Penn State lecturer in English and Next Stage co-founder, decided to translate the French version to English himself after realizing the text had been severely edited for its well-known English translation in 1950.

Schuchter said the 1942 French version was written during a period of Nazi occupation. It captured the attack on tyranny that dominated the original Greek text and has once again become topical, he added. "It was written in the context of war, the context of political power, oppression and resistance," he said.

Although Antigone is often considered a protest play, Shuchter said he is working with the cast to avoid the melodramatic view of Antigone as the hero and the king as the villain.

"A melodrama is simply good versus evil, but a true tragedy is good versus good," he said. "We want to make the audience think about what's the right way to do things."

Louisa Smith (sophomore-theatre arts) plays Antigone, a character she described as quiet, introverted and more mature than most of the people around her.

While Smith said her character is still considered the play's hero, she also said this production does present the king as less of a villain.

"It shows that he's not being bad just because he feels like being bad," she said. "He's just running his country the best way he knows."

Smith said Antigone's formal burial of her brother is a rebellion against the king's cynicism, inhumanity and failure to see the importance of family.

"It's the classic story being done from the point of view of strong characterization," she said. "This play is about the people, not about the plot."

Mike Waldhier, a Penn State staff member involved with material research, plays the role of the director, a character created for this production to replace the traditional chorus of ancient Greek drama.

Waldhier, a Next Stage veteran, said the show not only modernizes the classic story with its language but also presents the story as if the audience is watching an informal dress rehearsal with the director character adding the narrative element originally provided by a Greek chorus.

Waldhier described this production as a political show wrapped up in the form of a tragedy. "It deals with protest and government awareness," he said. "I think now is a time that people really need that."