NEW YORK – The new podcast series Live From Mount Olympus was featured in the New York Times as a “delightful” translation of a Greek myth into a story for teens.

The six-part audio adventure dramatizes the Greek myth of Perseus. The Onassis Foundation and the TRAX podcast network for tweens from public media organization PRX announced Live from Mount Olympus which is produced in partnership with theatre ensemble the TEAM, combining the magic of audio and contemporary theatre with the power of Greek myth.

The show debuted free on-demand to audiences everywhere on Tuesday, February 2, with new episodes each Tuesday through March 9. An audio trailer is available online: https://apple.co/2MyK2yQ.

Live from Mount Olympus is co-directed by Rachel Chavkin, recipient of the Tony Award for best direction of a musical in 2019 for Hadestown and honored in 2017 for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, and Zhailon Levingston, who currently serves as the Resident Director for Broadway’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

When young Perseus, voiced by actor Divine Garland, makes a rash promise to save his mother from the clutches of an evil king, he has to strike out on a dangerous quest. Hermes, god of luck and thieves, voiced by Tony Award-winning actor André De Shields who also portrayed the messenger god in Hadestown on Broadway, narrates this tale of terrifying monsters, powerful gods, and a brave girl who will change Perseus’ life forever. Richly imagined through evocative action and immersive sound, the podcast also explores timeless themes of complex families, love, and discovering not only who you are, but what you are capable of.

The Times called the podcast “an accessible entryway into mythology,” adding that the 15-20 minute episodes “written by Alexie Basil and Nathan Yungerberg, are snappy yet satisfying; the dialogue is set at a contemporary clip, with modern-day language.”

“‘Oh my godsss,’ Perseus exclaims repeatedly, like a teen running into his crush

at the mall,” the Times reported, noting that “the grittier bits of the stories (violence, assault) are softened and maneuvered around gracefully without losing a sense of the problematic relationships and themes at work, especially when it comes to gender.”

Live from Mount Olympus features artists from acclaimed Brooklyn-based theater company the TEAM including Vinie Burrows (Gaia, Maia, Gray Sister, Nymph), André De Shields (Hermes), Jill Frutkin (Metis, Gray Sister, Nymph), Divine Garland (Perseus), Amber Gray (Cassiopeia), Modesto “Flako” Jimenez (Phylakos), Libby King (Athena), Ian Lassiter (Zeus, Apollo, Acrisius, Polydectes, Kronos, sea monster Cetus), Zhailon Levingston (Young Hermes, Funeral Games Announcer, Series Announcer), Christina Liberus (Andromeda), Nehemiah Luckett (Cepheus), Jake Margolin (Dictys), James Harrison Monaco (Hephaestus, Atlas, Phineus), Kristen Sieh (Perseus at ages five and 12, Rhea, Gray Sister, Nymph), and Jillian Walker (Danae).

Live from Mount Olympus is available free on-demand across podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher, and online at TRAX.fm.

More information is available online: onassis.org.