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Spring Awakening, November 1-4, 2017, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Spring Awakening, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, and directed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: Set in late 19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.

2016 Eiu Undergraduate Theatre History/Dramatic Literature Research Symposium, Theatre Arts

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.

Bent, February 6-8, 2014, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Bent by Martin Sherman and directed by Deon Haider.

Synopsis: Bent is a story of living versus survival. It concerns Max, a gay "wheeler-dealer" who leads a dissolute life of drink, drugs, and sporadic sex in prewar Berlin. One night he and his lover Rudy pick up the wrong man--someone who's on the Nazi's wanted list. Max and Rudy are forced to flee Berlin and live underground. Ultimately they are arrested, and sent to Dachau. En route, Rudy is murdered, but Max survives with the help of a "pink triangle" prisoner, Horst.

Once in …

Twelfth Night, November 7-9, 2013, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: Twelfth Night—an allusion to the night of festivity preceding the Christian celebration of the Epiphany—combines love, confusion, mistaken identities, and joyful discovery.After the twins Sebastian and Viola survive a shipwreck, neither knows that the other is alive. Viola goes into service with Count Orsino of Illyria, disguised as a young man, "Cesario." Orsino sends Cesario to woo the Lady Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia falls in love with Cesario. Viola, in the meantime, has fallen in love with Orsino.At the estate of …

An Evening Of One Acts, April 25-27, 2013, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Legend by Floyd Dell and directed by Ian Donahue; Time Flies by David Ives and directed by Will Hanson; The Visitor by Dean Laccohee and directed by Dean Haider.

Synopsis: Legend- Luciano has a present for Donna Violante. The gift is actually from her husband - a mirror he found in the catacombs. Luciano keeps her from seeing it because he wants to talk his love for her. He begs her to leave her husband. Faced with rejection, Luciano leaves. When Donna finally looks at the mirror, her life changes.

Time Flies- Two …

The King Stag, April 12-13, 2013, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The King Stag by Carlo Gozzi adapted by Sylvia Ashby and directed by Kathy Ray.

Synopsis King Stag takes place in a theatre where we see the kingdom of Serendippo appear before our eyes with the help of the great and magnificent wizard, Durandarte. At issue is the wish of King Deramo to find an honest woman to be his queen. He does so with the help of the wizard's invention, a statue whose smiles can alert the king to lies and dishonesty. Unfortunately, his prime minister, Tartaglia, wickedly undermines his trust, his government …

God Of Carnage, February 7-9, 2013, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: Winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play, God of Carnage relates an evening in the lives of two couples, residents of a tony Brooklyn neighborhood, who meet to discuss a playground incident. Alan and Annette’s son hit Michael and Veronica’s son in the face with a stick, resulting in two broken teeth. The four of them agree to discuss the incident civilly, but, as the night wears on and drinks are imbibed, the polite veneer breaks down. The couples initially …

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, November 1-3, 2012, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later by Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, Stephen Belber and directed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepard’s death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of the town, the event was deeply personal. In the aftermath, Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and …

Medea, April 26-28, 2012, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Medea by Euripides, translated by Frederic Raphael & Kenneth McLeish and directed by Lynn Bixler.

Synopsis: In a continuation of the stories of Jason and the Argonauts, foreign princess and sorceress Medea has murdered her own father to help Jason win the Golden Fleece and the kingdom of Thessaly. They have married and have two sons. Now in ancient Corinth, Medea is told that Jason will be marrying the Corinthian princess. The King of Corinth, anticipating her wrath, sends her into exile. She plans revenge against Jason and negotiates safe haven with the naïve …

Blance And Beyond: Letters Of Tennessee Williams, March 1-2, 2012, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Blanche and Beyond: Letters of Tennessee Williams adapted by Steve Lawson and performed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: Blanche and Beyond is the stage sequel to A Distant Country Called Youth. While the first play traced the evolution of a young man finding his artistic voice, Blanche and Beyond spans the peak of Williams' career - the period of Streetcar, Rose Tattoo, Summer and Smoke, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - and explores a no-longer obscure playwright facing the seismic shock of international fame.

The Emperor's New Clothes, March 30-31, 2012, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Emperor’s New Clothes by Blanche Marvin and directed by Shaune Wunder.

Synopsis: A parody of medieval morality plays, this delightful version of the classic tale incorporates comedy traditions from Moliere to Giraudoux.

No Placed Called Home, February 24, 2012, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of No Place Called Home by Kim Schultz and directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde.

Synopsis: No Place Called Home is an unexpected story—a story about an American woman and an Iraqi man, a story about one refugee out of millions, a story that isn’t supposed to be a love story.

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde, December 9-10, 2011, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moisés Kaufman and directed by Jessie Sherman.

Synopsis: In early 1895, the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of Wilde's young lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, left a card at Wilde's club bearing the phrase "posing somdomite." Wilde sued the Marquess for criminal libel. The defense denounced Wilde's art and literature as immoral, leading the prosecuting attorney to declare, "It would appear that what is on trial is not Lord Queensberry but Mr. Wilde's art!" In the end Queensberry was acquitted, and evidence that had been gathered …

Anything Goes, November 16-19, 2011, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Anything Goes by Cole Porter and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: The S. S. American is sailing between New York and England with a comically colorful assemblage of passengers: Reno Sweeney, a popular nightclub singer and former evangelist, her pal Billy Crocker, a lovelorn Wall Street broker who has come aboard to try to win the favor of his beloved Hope Harcourt (who is engaged to another passenger, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh), and a second-rate conman named Moonface Martin, aka “Public Enemy #13.” Song, dance, and farcical antics ensue as Reno and Moonface try to …

Sophie And The Adventures Of Ice Island, April 15-16, 2011, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Sophie and the Adventures of Ice Island by Forrest Musselman and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: Sophie always wanted to be a superhero, so when her homemade sail boat travels to Ice Island, Sophie gets a chance to save the island from melting. Can she be the hero or will the Dark Figure and his minion of penguins stop her? This play received its world premiere at the University of Minnesota-Morris and was also shown on local PBS stations: Pioneer TV and KMSQ.

Recent Tragic Events, February 10-12, 2011, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Recent Tragic Eventsf by Craig Wright and directed by Alex McGreavey.

Synopsis: It is September 12th, 2001; the setting is the Minneapolis apartment of Waverly, a young advertising executive. Soon to venture on a blind date amidst the television news coverage of the September 11th attacks, Waverly becomes preoccupied when she discovers that her twin sister, Wendy, a student in New York, has not been heard from. Waverly reassures herself that Wendy had no reason to be at the World Trade Center. As the evening unfolds, Waverly and her blind date, Andrew, an airport …

Art, November 3-7, 2010, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Art by Yasmina Reza and directed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: A translation of a French-language play, Art is about one man, Serge, who buys an expensive painting, a white canvas with a few white lines, and the reactions of his friends, Marc and Yvan, to his purchase. Marc responds with shock and anger; for him, Serge's purchase of the painting is a cruel joke. Yvan tries to mediate the hostility between Serge and Marc, at the cost of redirecting them to himself. As the conversations moves from the theoretical to the personal, the three …

As You Like It, April 22-24, 2010, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare and directed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: In one of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic pastoral comedies, we follow the young heroine Rosalind from the court of her vindictive uncle, Duke Frederick, into the Eden-like Forest of Arden, where her banished father is living in exile. In order to avoid running into trouble, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, “Ganymede,” and, accompanied by her faithful cousin Celia and the court clown, Touchstone, makes her way into the woods. She soon encounters the young, handsome Orlando, who is also …

Antigone, November 5-7, 2009, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.

Jack And The Beanstalk, April 24-25, 2009, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota Morris production of Jack and the Beanstalk dramatized by William Glennon and directed by Kelli Tucker.

Synopsis: There is much more to this play than Jack and a beanstalk. Of course, there's the proverbial giant, but there is also the giant's overworked, over-wrought wife, an aria-singing harp, a golden-egg-laying chicken with performance anxiety, and a blue-eyed stranger who looks surprisingly like Jack's long-lost father. Naturally, there's the village at the foot of the beanstalk and the giant's home in the sky, but there is also, 10 years earlier, a sailing ship caught in a storm off the …

Of Mice & Men, February 26-28, 2009, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: Based on the classic novella written by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two great friends and their struggle to live the American dream. George and Lennie have been traveling together from ranch to ranch for years, working hard to make ends meet and save enough for a place of their own. The two are polar opposites: George is intelligent, quick and small, while Lennie is slow-minded, childlike, and giant. Though they are different, they care deeply about …

Our Town, November 6-8, 2008, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production Our Town by Thornton Wilder and directed by Ray Schultz.

Synopsis: A landmark in American drama, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town tells the story of a small town, Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, in order to tell us the story of every town, the whole world over. Narrated by the “Stage Manager”, we follow the Gibbs and Webb families, residents of Grover’s Corners, through twelve years of life changes -- from the mundane in Act I, “Daily Life,” to the romantic in Act II, “Love and Marriage,” to the devastating in Act III, “Death and …

Seussical, April 23-30, 2008, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Seussical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and directed by Brenna Jones.

Synopsis: A musical perfect for the whole family, Seussical takes us into the world of Dr. Seuss, where we revisit beloved characters including The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie, and JoJo. The Cat in the Hat guides us into The Jungle of Nool where we see Horton, the kind hearted elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whoville. He meets JoJo, a Who child sent to military …

The Birds, February 7-9, 2008, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Birds by Aristophanes, adapted by Peter Meineck and directed by Deidre Onishi.

Synopsis: In this classical Greek drama two men are disgusted with life in Athens and seek a new homeland among the birds

The Shape Of Things, December 5-7, 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute and directed by Nick Lostetter.

Synopsis: How far would you go for love? For art? What would you be willing to change? What price might you pay? Such are the painful questions explored by Neil LaBute in THE SHAPE OF THINGS. A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friends' engagement crumbles, so unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships.

A Lie Of The Mind, November 1-3. 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis:Beth has been violently beaten - to the point of brain damage - by her overly jealous husband, Jake. As the play begins, she is being cared for by her family. Her brother-in-law, Frankie soon arrives, trying to figure out if Beth survived Jake’s beating. Beth’s father, mistaking Frankie for a deer, shoots him in the leg, and then brings Frankie into their home to care for his injury. Meanwhile, Jake, convinced that he has killed his wife, is slipping into …

The Wind In The Willows, April 19-20 & 23-25, 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame adapted by moses Goldberg and directed by Amanda J. Holter.

Synopsis: In this animal fantasy, Toad is the rich playboy of the animal kingdom. His current enthusiasm is motor cars, which he embraces passionately without the formality of learning to drive. After several narrow shaves, his friends, Rat, Mole and Badger, ground him for his own safety at his home, Toad Hall. He manages to elude them and appropriates a police car, which lands him in jail. In his absence, the weasels take over Toad Hall, …

Greater Tuna, April 27-29, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Greater Tunal by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard and directed by Todd Janssen.

Synopsis: Greater Tuna is a comedy about a small town in Texas named Tuna, Texas' third smallest town. The wacky inhabitants of this town -- men, women, children and animals -- are all played by two skillful, transformative actors who must change parts at a rather breakneck speed and use inventive voicework.

The Dark Castle, April 1, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Dark Castle by Sally Netzel and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: The Dark Castle highlights the journey of a handsome, but not-so-bright, young man, named Dimwit, on his way to save the downtrodden duchess Lumina, who is caught in the clutches of her evil uncle, the Baron. Lumina refuses to give up hope that one day a suitor may overcome the impossible tasks her uncle has set forth and rescue her. Even as Lumina's light begins to fade, her ladies-in-waiting--Lady Nozzle, Lady Ogle, and Lady Murmer--stay faithfully by her side. Inspired by the …

The Unusual Suspects Improve Troupe, February 17-18, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.