This tool is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.
Start planning your production with a cost estimate you can save and share with your team. Just answer a few questions.
This estimator is only for amateur productions. Professional customers should contact the Licensing department directly to enquire about a title's availability: [email protected]
Important: The cost quoted is an estimate only and may differ when you apply for a licence.
A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE
Full-Length Musical, Drama / 1w
Music and Lyrics by Alex Bechtel Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz
Blending sharp humor with a folk-pop score, this modern musical retelling of The Odyssey gives Penelope a voice as she awaits her husband’s return.
Winner! 2026 Richard Rodgers Award
Penelope has been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for her husband, Odysseus, to return from a decade-long war. Given the rest of the soldiers came home years ago – forgive her, but she’s going to need a drink while she tells you about it. With a beautiful folk-inflected pop score backed by an onstage band of strings, piano and drums, Penelope opens up about her loneliness, her son’s disappearance, her suitors, her gods, her faith in her marriage – and ultimately, the faith that she must have in herself. So go ahead and grab a drink, too, and listen to this ancient tale made new: A woman wondering who she is if she’s alone, and discovering that she has been, is and will always be complete – with or without her husband by her side.
Blending sharp humor with a folk-pop score, this modern musical retelling of The Odyssey gives Penelope a voice as she awaits her husband’s return, moving through her loneliness to discover her own strength.
Professional Artwork Available for Your Production of PenelopeConcord Theatricals has collaborated with Subplot Studio to create high-quality artwork that complies with your license. Promoting your show has never been easier! Learn more at Subplot Studio.
Penelope premiered at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in September 2023. It subsequently played various regional stages across the country, including in DC at Signature Theatre in March 2024, an acclaimed co-production in Philadelphia between Theatre Horizon and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in May 2025 and in concert at Joe’s Pub in October 2025, the latest starring Grace McLean in the titular role.
PENELOPE – Age Flexible. A bright and unyielding woman, engaged in an epic journey of the imagination. She handles her insistent imaginative thoughts of doom with alcohol and dry wit, eventually finding strength in her own values and faith in the future. Versatile vocalist capable of singing the vast majority of the score. A classical actor, a poetic mover, a gifted clown and the lead singer of a band.
ONSTAGE BAND (ATHENA)
“Delicate, contemporary, unconventional.” – The New York Times
“What splendid musics Bechtel has written... In Penelope’s telling, Phillips’ heroine talks of the ever-new pictures she makes with each new swath of fabric as though they’re each an adventure — a kind of escape, travel without moving, storytelling in the time-stealing mode of Scheherazade. I left thinking I would gladly have listened for another day.” – Washington Post
Grace McLean Performs Penelope
Drunk Iliad From Penelope
Penelope at Signature Theatre
1. “Overture” – Penelope 2. A Very Long Wait – Cello 3. One By One – The Band 4. “Penelope” – Penelope, The Band 5. “Drunk Iliad” – Penelope, The Band 6. “Prayer” – Penelope, The Band 6a. “Weaving” – Penelope, Piano 7. “Lose My Mind” – Penelope, The Band 7a. A Very Long Wait II – Violin, Viola, Cello 7b. “Athena’s Song” – Athena/The Band 8. “Tired of Faith” – Penelope, Athena/The Band 9. Sunset – Violin, Viola, Cello 9a. “Like Him…” – Penelope, Piano 10. “Pilgrim’s Song” – Penelope, The Band 11. Rain – Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello 12. “I Do” – Penelope, The Band 12a. To The Sea – The Band 13. “Resolution” – Penelope, The Band 14. “Sunrise” – Penelope, The Band 15. The Return – The Band 16. “Take My Hand” – Penelope, The Band 17. By The Fire – Piano, Cello 18. Night – Violin, Viola, Cello 19. “Us” – Penelope, The Band 20. “Epilogue” – Penelope
2 Libretto-Cast Vocal1 Piano-Conductor (rehearsal & performance)1 Percussion1 Violin1 Viola1 Cello
2 Libretto-Cast Vocal1 Piano-Conductor (rehearsal & performance)
Grace McLean (she/her) is a performer, writer and composer. In addition to performing on Broadway (Suffs; Bad Cinderella; Natasha, Pierre...), off-Broadway and regionally (MCC, LCT3, The Public, Vineyard, La MaMa, BAM, Weston Playhouse, ART, WTF) and TV (The First Lady [Showt ...
Alex Bechtel creates new works of music, theatre and musical theatre. His latest musical, Penelope – for which he wrote music, lyrics and arrangements and co-wrote the book with performer Grace McLean and Director Eva Steinmetz – has had productions at Hudson Valley Shakespea ...