Grace McLean

Broadway’s Grace McLean (currently in SUFFS) stars in PENELOPE, a musical re-telling of the Odyssey for one actor and a five-piece chamber orchestra. At the beginning of the pandemic, composer/creator Alex Bechtel was forced to quarantine in separate cities from his romantic partner of many years. As time went on and their distance grew, Bechtel composed music from the point of view of the Odyssey’s Penelope to fill the growing space and answer the endless questions. That music, with the help of co-book-writers Grace McLean and Eva Steinmetz, has become a solo musical by turns aching, hilarious, haunting, and explosive. After successful productions at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Signature Theatre DC, Steinmetz directs Grace McLean’s return to the title role for this intimate concert version of PENELOPE at Joe’s Pub.