31 actors. 16 people on crew. Over 150 characters. The fall play at Solon High School (SHS) this year is The Iliad, the Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less, directed by Kris Ferencie. It plays Nov. 21-23 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. The tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens.

“After Scarlet [Letter] last year [was] so intense, we wanted something light that would challenge us from a comedy standpoint,” said Kris Ferencie, head of Drama Club and director of the play.

The Iliad is about the war on Troy— and no, not Troy Bolton— the actual city of Troy in Greece. The Odyssey is about Odysseus’s journey as he tries to get home from the Trojan war. His quest is to return to his love, but he is faced with many challenges as the gods attempted to deter him.

The play also explores all of Greek mythology, which is a lot to cover, so here’s the gist. Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder, is a womanizer and is the father of about 90% of the other gods in the play. Hera, his wife, tries to kill all of his children and their mothers.

Additionally, Kris mentioned that Zeus’s children, like Hercules, Perseus and Theseus, are all mentioned and show up in some small or large way.

The play also has characters like Poseidon who is the god of the seas and earthquakes (the one who carries the trident,) and Hades, the god of the Underworld. These gods and many more show up in the play causing drama to the other charters and bunches of laughs to the audience.

One of the cool things about going to see a show like this one is that people can get a better look at the set, and this year there are some major pieces. Senior Jessica Hrich would agree.

“Mount Olympus in general is going to be really cool,” Hrich said. ”It’s kinda in [the] process right now…there’s color on [the wood frame]now, [it’s pretty cool].”

From Mount Olympus to the Trojan Horse, a lot of thought goes into building the set pieces. All of them will also take a lot of work because they have to think of how it will work to make sure it is safe for the actors to use.

“The Trojan Horse…basically has the entire cast inside of it. [We had to figure out] how it’ll get carried on safely,” said Joseph Ferencie, Technical Director and Technology & Engineering teacher and Coordinator of Comet Productions.

Additionally, with the show not even a month away, there is still a lot more for the cast and crew to do to get ready.

One thing that has been completed are the columns which you see in a lot of Greek architecture.

“[I like] the little columns, they are these little seats that come on and off, but I’m especially proud of the students who made them,” Hrich said.

Hrich also mentioned that the actors help out with the props and set. For example, sophomore Luke Miozzi helped make the lightning bolts for his character, Zeus.

“I [helped] work on the boat and am going to start working on Mount Olympus soon,” Miozzi said.

Mount Olympus is a large set piece that will look like a mountain with marble where the gods will sit.

Finally, in a crazy show like this there can also be problems since there’s a lot to get done. Like how if they don’t get to the end of the show in 99 minutes then they don’t end the show.

“I’m not sure how we’re getting it under 99 minutes yet, but we will figure it out,” Kris Ferencie said.

Even the set needs to be finished and there’s less than a month left.

“To be ready for the show we need to make sure that the set is designed and built,” Joseph Ferencie said. ”I also have to put together all the sound cues and special effects.”

With only so many seats available, it’ll be blackbox seating (seats are on stage), people don’t have time to procrastinate to buy tickets.

“The show is hilarious and I definitely recommend to come see it even if you don’t think Greek mythology is your thing,” Hrich said. “There is so much jam packed into those 99 minutes. I don’t know how it’s going to work, but we will make it happen.”