Alumni to Serve Up Comedy on Galvin Stage Theatre alumni from across the country will return to the Galvin Fine Arts Center this fall for an alumni production of “You Can’t Take It With You,” the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart comedy classic. The comedy will be a co-production with The Curtainbox Theatre Company, which was founded by Kimberly Kurtenbach Furness ’94. Proceeds from the three-performance benefit will fund the Michael Kennedy Scholarship and The Curtainbox Theatre’s yearly mainstage and educational programs. “I am so deeply touched that so many of our alumni are returning home to act, direct and design in this show,” says Corinne Johnson, PhD, theatre department chair and the play’s producer. “No one is getting paid—and in fact, many of our alumni are using their vacation time to spend the two weeks prior to opening night in Davenport to rehearse for the show. We even have a few alumni returning to spend no more than two minutes on stage.” “You Can’t Take It With You” will star Kennedy, professor emeritus, and Johnson. Alumni reprising their roles from the 1996 production of the show include Rev. Tom Hennen ’00, chair of the Presbyteral Council for the Diocese of Davenport, as Mr. DePinna, and Scott Naumann ’97, a Bettendorf alderman, as Boris Kolenkhov. David Bonde ’93 directs the production. This is the second time an alumni, faculty and student production has been staged. In 2004, the university produced “Death of a Salesman.” Proceeds from that production established the Kennedy Scholarship, which offers a financial award to a first-year student majoring in theatre. Johnson says she hopes proceeds and donations from this project will grow that endowment to a level that allows the department to award multiple scholarships for each recipient’s entire academic career at St. Ambrose.
You Can’t Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sept. 7–8 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9 Allaert Auditorium Galvin Fine Arts Center Prior to the Saturday, Sept. 8 performance, alumni can enjoy a 6 p.m. preview dinner at the Rogalski Center (advance reservations required). For ticket information on the play and more information on the dinner, visit sau.edu/scene.
25