Morality, gender and power.

These are all themes in the dramatic 2,500-year-old play “Antigone,” to be performed by Chico State’s music and theatre department in early March.

Professor William Johnson is directing, and he adapted his version of “Antigone” from the English translation by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. The play is based on the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles in 441 B.C.

The characters in the story struggle with issues of morality. More serious than lighthearted, the story takes place in the Greek civilization of Thebes and is about a young woman named Antigone, who is the daughter of the incestuous relationship of Oedipus.

Her brother is killed by the king, and she attempts to bury and honor his dead body. The king has other plans for the body, and when he finds out what Antigone has done, he has her arrested, and she must defend her actions to the king and the public.

Antigone will be performed 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Harlen Adams Theatre.

Tickets bought in advance cost $16 for adults, $13 for senior citizens and $6 for students and children, and are on sale at the University Box Office.

Greta Gordon can be reached at [email protected] or @hakunagretata on Twitter.