Klein Theatre Season 2013-14

20I3-I4

2013

3 SEASON -2014

Dear Friends, As we begin a second century of theatre on the Mary Washington campus, I am delighted by the season ahead. Never before have we programmed a collection of work that speaks as eloquently to the complexities of being alive, pursuing relationships, and finding one’s way in a complex world.

We open with a quintessential southern comedy, The Miss Firecracker Contest, that will tug at your heart while you tag along with a wanna-be beauty queen. Unlike any musical that we have ever produced, Spring Awakening will captivate you with its gorgeous score and urgent, gripping, and unexpected questions. We continue in February with Always . . . Patsy Cline, a musical love letter that celebrates the poignant life of one of the world’s most beloved stars.

Finally, we close with the ancient Greek comedy, Lysistrata, in which the quest for peace is as convincing today as it was two thousand years ago.

I invite you to join us for this spectacular season that will find you laughing, weeping, and clapping along in Klein Theatre. You are in for a compelling adventure!

Gregg Stull Professor & Chair

Opposite: Maggie Wilder ’14 , Alicia Kallen ’13, Joshua Culhane ’16, Judi Jackson ’15 Cover: Anissa Felix ’13, Nicholas McGovern ’14, Emily Burke ’16

The Miss FIRECRACKER CONTEST

by Beth Henley

SEPT. 19-29 “I just don’t know what you can, well, reasonably hope for in life.” Carnelle

Nothing reigns supreme in the sizzling South like a good old-fashioned beauty pageant on the Fourth of July! Hot to claim the royal title of Miss Firecracker, Carnelle is eager to seize her best (and possibly last) chance at salvaging her somewhat tarnished reputation as Brookhaven, Mississippi’s Miss Hot Tamale. With the aid of Popeye the seamstress and the encouragement of her cousins and erstwhile paramour, Carnelle can all but taste the queenly prize. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Beth Henley, The Miss Firecracker Contest is a slice of southern life rich with laughter, tender moments, and eternal hope.

It’s a comic volcano of a play, populated by offbeat, but vital, larger-than-life characters.

—The Hollywood Reporter

THU FRI SAT SUN THU FRI SAT SUN

SEPT 19 @ 8pm SEPT 20 @ 8pm SEPT 21 @ 8pm SEPT 22 @ 2pm SEPT 26 @ 8pm SEPT 27 @ 8pm SEPT 28 @ 2pm & 8pm SEPT 29 @ 2pm

SPRING AWAKENING

based on the play by Frank Wedekind music by Duncan Sheik book and lyrics by Steven Sater

Nov. 7-24 “Now our bodies are the guilty ones.” Wendla

A close-knit community of teens grapple with their changing bodies and developing minds under the reproachful eyes of disapproving parents who refuse to talk about what it all means in this fearless musical based on Frank Wedekind’s powerful and exhilarating 19th Century play that was banned for decades in Germany. The winner of eight TONY Awards, Spring Awakening took the world by storm in 2006 and redefined musical theatre with its electrifying indie-rock and folk-infused score that exudes love, grief, skepticism, and sexuality.

Haunting and electrifying! This brave new musical has a shivery, sensual allure unmatched by anything in the theater right now.

—New York Times

Spring Awakening explores provocative ideas with explicit language, sexual situations, and nudity.

THU FRI SAT SUN THU FRI SAT SUN THU FRI SAT SUN

NOV 7 @ 8pm NOV 8 @ 8pm NOV 9 @ 8pm NOV 10 @ 2pm NOV 14 @ 8pm NOV 15 @ 8pm NOV 16 @ 2pm & 8pm NOV 17 @ 2pm NOV 21 @ 8pm NOV 22 @ 8pm NOV 23 @ 2pm & 8pm NOV 24 @ 2pm

Always...

Patsy Cline

by Ted Swindley featuring the music of Patsy Cline

Feb. 6-23 “This is the sweetest music this side of heaven!” Patsy

Divorced, gainfully employed and ready to take on the world, Louise Seger dons her best yellow cowboy boots and cowgirl skirt to meet her idol, country and western singer Patsy Cline, at the Esquire Ballroom in Houston, Texas. When Louise strikes up a conversation with Miss Cline, the two become fast friends, confidantes and devoted pen pals. Letter by letter, Always…Patsy Cline celebrates a legendary career cut far too short by tragedy through the hits that made her a star—Walkin’ After Midnight, Your Cheatin’ Heart, Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, She’s Got You, Anytime, and many, many more.

A song-filled valentine.

—Los Angeles Times

THU FRI SAT SUN THU FRI SAT SUN THU FRI SAT SUN

FEB 6 @ 8pm FEB 7 @ 8pm FEB 8 @ 8pm FEB 9 @ 2pm FEB 13 @ 8pm FEB 14 @ 8pm FEB 15 @ 2pm & 8pm FEB 16 @ 2pm FEB 20 @ 8pm FEB 21 @ 8pm FEB 22 @ 2pm & 8pm FEB 23 @ 2pm

LYSISTRATA

by Aristophanes translated by Dudley Fitts

APR. 10-19 “Sisters! If we really want our men to make an armistice, then we must give up sleeping with our men . . . will you do it?” Lysistrata

Fed up and weary of the never-ending conflict between Athens and Sparta, an Athenian housewife brings the sparring warriors to their senses and to their knees when she convinces the women of both sides to stage a sex strike to force a peaceful end to the Peloponnesian War. An ancient and steamy play first performed in 411 BCE, Lysistrata ignites a battle of the sexes and reveals that shockingly little has changed in twoand-a-half millenia. The warring men (and the women who love them) find the fight on the homefront is harder than the battlefield in this ribald comedy about war and sex and the war between the sexes!

Vivacious, visceral, spectacularly indignant . . .

—The Guardian

Lysistrata is a sophisticated work that confronts timeless beliefs with strong language and sexual imagery.

THU FRI SAT SUN WED THU FRI SAT

APR 10 @ 8pm APR 11 @ 8pm APR 12 @ 8pm APR 13 @ 2pm APR 16 @ 8pm APR 17 @ 8pm APR 18 @ 8pm APR 19 @ 2pm & 8pm

STUDIO 115 duPONT HALL

Kathryn G ig

antiello ’14, Talking Wit h

Learning by doing.

We showcase the boundless creative energies of our student directors, actors, designers, and playwrights throughout the season in our flexible and intimate Studio 115 on the first floor of duPont Hall. One-acts, festivals, full-length plays and musicals, solo performances, scenes, and monologues comprise the rich and diverse array of Studio 115 offerings during the fall, winter, and spring. For more information about Studio 115, call (540) 654-1397.

studio

Dates and times to be announced

5 1 1

Performances SEPTEMBER

The Miss firecracker contest SU

MO

TU

WE

TH

19

8pm

26

22

2pm*

FR

20

SA

21

8pm

8pm

28

8pm

8pm

27

2pm* 8pm

TH

FR

SA

29

2pm

SPRING AWAKENING SU

MO

TU

WE

NOVEMBER

7

8pm

10

14

2pm*

8pm

17

21

2pm

8

9

8pm

8pm

15

2pm* 8pm

8pm

22

16

23

8pm

8pm

2pm 8pm

TH

FR

SA

24

2pm

Always...Patsy Cline SU

MO

TU

WE

FEBRUARY

6

8pm

9

13

2pm*

8pm

16

20

2pm

7

8

8pm

8pm

14

2pm* 8pm

8pm

21

15

22

8pm

8pm

2pm 8pm

TH

FR

SA

23

2pm

LYSISTRATA APRIL

SU

MO

TU

WE

10

8pm

13

16

2pm*

8pm

17

8pm

11

12

8pm

8pm

18

2pm* 8pm

8pm

19

* AfterWords post-show discussions Firecracker

Spring

Patsy Cline Lysistrata

Standard

$12

$24

$24

$18

Student/Senior

$10

$20

$20

$16

Military ID/UMW Alumni

$10

$20

$20

$16

Groups

$8

$16

$16

$14

GCC or UMW ID

$5

$10

$10

$8

FRIENDS OF THEATRE

, Into the Woods

Taryn Snyder ’15

Let's be friends!

While our students love the applause they hear following every performance, your appreciation for their outstanding contributions to our production program doesn’t help them pay their tuition or buy their books and supplies. You can, however, help them with that, too!

A tax-deductible gift to Friends of Theatre helps us help our students through scholarships, classroom supplies, and artist residencies. Your gift makes an extraordinary theatre education at the University of Mary Washington possible for our deserving students.

JOIN TODAY! Membership in Friends of Theatre enables you to: • give scholarships and sponsor special educational activities for theatre students • receive acknowledgement in production programs • receive advance notice of special opportunities and events For more information, and to join online, visit cas.umw.edu/theatre/friends-of-theatre

TAKE YOUR SEAT!

For just $500, you can name a seat in the beautiful Klein Theatre. Most important, you will be personally responsible for creating amazing opportunities for our students as the discover themselves, the theatre, and the world beyond our campus.

Visit cas.umw.edu/theatre/take-your-seat/ to learn more.

Photo credits: Geoff Greene, Julie Hodge, David E. Hunt, Jr.

Parking

There is plenty of free parking along College Avenue and in Lots 28 & 29 on Thornton Street. Two short-term box office parking spaces are available in Lot 28 during box office hours.

Tickets

Tickets are available at the Klein Theatre Box Office in duPont Hall one week before opening. Tickets are also available online at umw.tix.com. Handling fees apply to telephone and online purchases.

Student projects in Studio 115 are free.

Groups

Discounted rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111.

AfterWords

AfterWords discussions follow select performances.

Information

For more information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit www.umw.edu/cas/theatre.

Season subject to change.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible seating is available. Please inquire when purchasing tickets. Accessible parking is available in Lot 28 and in the rear of duPont Hall.

Assistive listening devices are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at the Klein Theatre Box Office.

We are eager to help you plan your visit. For more information on accessibility or parking, please call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111.

THE FINE PRINT

Location

Klein Theatre is located in duPont Hall on College Avenue at Thornton Street.

1301 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 227 Fredericksburg, VA