Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

O HOMER, WHERE ART THOU?

by Clementine Thomas, Assistant Director

What do Melissa James Gibson (an Obie Award-winning playwright) and Homer Simpson (a doughnut-obsessed cartoon character) have in common? Nothing less than the spirit of one of the greatest texts in the history of Western literature: THE ODYSSEY.

In the past 2,500 years, THE ODYSSEY has become an integral part of both traditional and popular culture, influencing art of all mediums, from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem ULYSSES (1847), to Joel and Ethan Cohen’s film O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000). Contemporary adaptors display varying degrees of fidelity to the source material. While a 1997 NBC film version of THE ODYSSEY was actually shot on location in the Mediterranean and tackled the entire plot, Margaret Atwood’s THE PENELOPIAD (2005) springs from just one line of THE ODYSSEY: the hanging of twelve of Penelope’s handmaidens upon the return of her husband. Atwood explores whether Penelope conspired with the maids to evade her suitors, or whether she planned their deaths because they knew she had been unfaithful to her husband.

A few versions of THE ODYSSEY have become part of the Western canon themselves, most notably James Joyce’s UYLSSES (1922), in which everyman Leopold Bloom and malcontent Stephen Dedalus wander through Dublin, dodging contemporary versions of Homer’s creatures until they stumble upon one another. Other adaptations have come and gone with little fanfare –- a Franco-Japanese anime series in which Ulysses travels through space only lasted through one television season in 1981. THE ODYSSEY has influenced poems, films, novels and even the 1967 Cream song “Tales of Brave Ulysses.” Melissa James Gibson’s CURRENT NOBODY is but the latest example of the enduring power of Homer’s original tale.

So how did THE ODYSSEY influence THE SIMPSONS? Not only does Homer Simpson owe his moniker to the ancient poet, he also features in his own abridged version of the epic story. In an episode called “Tales from the Public Domain,” which aired during the show’s 13th season, Homer stumbles upon several books that he borrowed from the library years before. Cracking one open, he finds himself absorbed into THE ODYSSEY. In the sequence titled “D’Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?” Homer must fight the monsters of the ancient Greek epic (all played by the motley citizens of Springfield) before returning to his blue haired bride. Of course, the writers of THE SIMPSONS could not resist editing the original just a bit. In THE ODYSSEY, the witch Circe transforms Odysseus’ companions into pigs; but with a little help from the god Hermes, Odysseus tricks her into lifting the spell. In the cartoon, Circe does cast the same spell; but Homer decides that it would be much simpler to eat the pigs himself.