A roller-derbying koryphaios, a Spartan hillbilly, an Athenian drag queen, and an ensemble of toga-clad phalluses all vying for the right to make love and war? Where else but in Asheville, and where else in Asheville but at the Montford Park Players’ ribald rendition of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata.

The Montford Park Players presents the classic antiwar comedy at the historic Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway in Asheville. Production dates are Thursday through Sunday, April 14–24, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. There will be two matinees (April 17 and April 23 at 2:30 p.m.).

Due to the sexually explicit nature and adult language of this play, no one under 17 will be admitted without parent or guardian. Lysistrata will be directed by Kristi DeVille, and features a seasoned cast of veteran actors.

Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, the play is a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War by persuading the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers. Her campaign was a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace. The strategy, however, inflamed the battle between the sexes.

Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors, adults students, and AAA members. Day of show tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors, adult students, and AAA members. Thursday nights are Pay What We’re Worth Night (no reservations and the first 150 patrons through the door see the show and pay what the show is worth. Free parking available at Home Trust Bank at 10 Woodfin Street around the corner from the Masonic Temple.