PHILOSOPHY GROUP OUTING: ARISTOPHANES’ THE FROGS

How often do we get a chance to see a 2,400-year-old Greek comedy performed live—and discover that it is still funny, irreverent, and philosophically provocative?

I’m planning a group outing to see Aristophanes’ The Frogs at CSU Bakersfield on Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 PM.

Written in 405 BCE, The Frogs sends the god Dionysus on a wonderfully absurd journey into the Underworld in search of a great poet who might save Athens. Once there, he encounters Aeschylus and Euripides competing over which of them is the greater tragedian—and, more importantly, what poetry and theater should contribute to society.

Behind the comedy are questions that remain remarkably alive:
What is art for?
What responsibility does the artist have to society?
Can a culture in crisis be transformed by changing how it understands itself?
And what happens when radically different ways of disclosing the world compete for authority?

This should be especially enjoyable for us because Aeschylus and Euripides are not merely historical references—they become characters in Aristophanes’ comedy.

Sunday, October 25, 2026 — 2:00 PM
Doré Theatre, CSU Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield
Tickets: $12 general / $10 seniors / $7 students
Bakersfield is roughly a 2.25 -hour drive from Huntington Beach, so I’m thinking of making this a relaxed Sunday excursion, with the possibility of coordinating rides and having lunch together before the performance.
If you’d like to join us, let me know. Once I know who is interested, we can coordinate tickets, transportation, and lunch.

Come spend an afternoon in ancient Athens by way of Bakersfield—and see what happens when the Greeks themselves start arguing about Greek tragedy.