Depending on which translation you prefer, the ancient poem “Beowulf” begins with the call, “Lo!” or “Attend!” or “Hear me!” or “Listen!” or even “What ho!” (that variously translated word: “Hwæt!”). Whatever the command, audiences will almost certainly prick up their ears at this new musical adaptation, Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage, produced by Shotgun Players and Banana Bag & Bodice. In Jason Craig’s script, a bevy of narrators, each of whom offers a wildly different interpretation of the epic, compete to tell the tale. Dave Malloy provides the musical accompaniment, a blend of “Weillian cabaret, ’40s jazz harmony, indie rock, electronica, and Romantic lieder.” Rod Hipskind directs the Anglo-Saxon theatrics.
Sundays, 5 p.m.; Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: March 29. Continues through April 18, 2009