Wilder’s telling of the story of Alcestis, a princess from Greek mythology, is entertaining and intelligent. Alcestis is bethrothed to Admetus since he was the only suitor of hers to successfully yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot, but wishes to become a priestess to Apollo instead. Apollo visits in the form of one of four visiting herdsman, but Alcestis doesn’t know which one he is. Based on what one of them says, however, she elects to marry Admetus. Later Admetus is fated to die, until Apollo tricks the three Fates into allowing someone to die in his place.

It sounds all very serious and as the original story from Euripides is over 2,400 years old, it may be understandable that Wilder’s play isn’t all that popular. There are several moments of levity, however – Apollo bantering with Death, the irascible and foggy-brained Tiresias, and an inebriated Hercules, among others, and you can easily imagine the play being performed on-stage. Wilder touches on themes of life’s meaning, and the difficulty of knowing God (or in this case, the Gods, plural). As in his other works, he is wisely reserved about trying to provide answers to such unanswerable things. He also is attentive to detail, and follows classical form by including a ‘Satyr play’ about the three Fates at the end of the three acts.

Just this quote, on God:
“But if they did exist, these gods, how would they speak to us? In what language would they talk to us? Compared to them, we are diseased and dying and deaf and blind and as busy as clowns. Why, there are some who even say that they love us. Could you understand that? What kind of love is that, Princess, when there is so great a gulf between the lovers? That would be an unhappy love, no doubt about that.” ( )