The great singer and composer Nina Simone is noted for saying "It is the artist's responsibility to reflect the times." Our choice to present a season of works by women is a response to the times and we will shine a light on the stories, characters and concerns of female theatre artists.
Performances for all shows (except Legally Blonde) will be Fridays and Saturdays @ 7PM; Sundays @2PM and Thursday at 4PM (Followed by a Coffee Talk) • For Legally Blonde the Thursday performance will be at 2PM.
Fall 2018
0 Beautiful (2011) by Theresa Rebeck • Directed by Michael Mufson | OCT 5-14
Theresa Rebeck pens a theatrically inventive mash-up of contemporary American life and the history that got us to this politically polarized age. This fiercely funny story explores the lives of high school students, teachers, and their families as they cope in a world of real personal problems and extremist ideological rhetoric that gets so heated that Jesus, Saint Paul, Joan of Arc, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Franklin, among others, show up to weigh-in and mix it up. Warning: This production contains controversial portrayals of Jesus and the Founding Fathers as well as mature themes and language.
The Children's Hour (1934) by Lilian Hellman • Directed by Francis Gercke | NOV 30 - DEC 9
What do you do when everything you say is made to mean something else? Lillian Hellman, one of our country's most significant playwrights, tackled this question long before fake news, spin, and political correctness overwhelmed our popular culture. In 1934 Massachusetts, two teachers, Martha and Karen, establish a successful private school for young women only to be confronted by a community that punishes the innocent with rumor and innuendo. As Mark Twain observed more than a century ago, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
Spring 2019
Legally Blonde (2007) • Book by Heather Hach • Music and Lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe & Nell Benjamin • Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture • Directed by Michael Mufson | MARCH 8-17
A fabulously fun award-winning musical based on the adored movie. Legally Blonde The Musical follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. Action-packed and exploding with memorable songs and dynamic dances - this musical is so much fun, it should be illegal!
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (1988) by Ann-Marie MacDonald • Directed by Dana Case | MAY 3-12
This lively comedy cleverly captures an undistinguished academic who takes a Shakesperian topple down a rowdy rabbit hole. When our leading lady lands, she inadvertently upends the worlds of Othello, Desdemona, Romeo, and Juliet; turning tragedy into comedy, while leaving lust and lunacy in her wake. An adventure of sharp-witted self-discovery with a wicked twist.
Campus Engagement Staged Reading Series
Times and Locations to be announced
Throughout the academic year, we will present Staged Readings of plays and projects by women to enlarge the awareness and discussions that highlight women's stories and points of view. This project will include readings from The Every 28 Hours Plays, A National Project Focused on the Current Civil Rights Moment, originally developed in Ferguson, MO and produced by The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, with artistic leadership by Dominic D'Andrea and Claudia Aick. The title came from the widely shared and contested statistic that every twenty-eight hours a black person is killed by vigilante, security guard, or the police in the United States. The project consists of around 76 one-minute plays.