Cornell Latin students stage outdoor play April 30, May 1

MOUNT VERNON — Money, lust and a woman in drag are critical elements in the classical Roman comedy “Poenulus, the Little Latin Loverboy,” to be staged by Cornell College Latin classes Sunday, April 30, at 6 p.m. and Monday, May 1, at 11:45 a.m. in front of Allee Chapel on campus. Admission is free.

In the play, by Plautus, Agorastocles is wild for his neighbor, Adelphasium. The only problem is her pimp, a possessive and lusty man named Lycus. Looney and lovesick, Agorastocles puts himself at the mercy of his devious slave, Milphio, who decides the best way to please his master and possibly win his freedom is to destroy the pimp. Milphio cunningly uses all the lures of money, lust and a woman in drag in his attempt to achieve his goal. However, two characters arrive who may change his plans: an interesting eunuch with a story to tell that may eliminate Lycus as a threat, and a puny and mysterious foreigner whose search for his daughters reveals shocking information about the relationship between Agorastocles and his beloved, Adelphasium.

The play will be performed in Latin and English. In case of rain, the performances will be moved to the Plumb-Fleming Studio Theatre, the black box theater in Armstrong Hall.