Dancing at Lughnasa

DRAMA
By Brian Friel
Directed by Stephanie Hunt
October 9-17, 2009 in Evert B. Person Theater

August, 1936.  The pagan harvest bonfires burn in the hills above Ballybeg, a small village in Donegal County Ireland.  In their modest rural kitchen, five fierce proud sisters, the unmarried Mundy sisters, erupt into a passionate dance of longing and frustration to the music on their new and only luxury, a radio.  Michael, the seven-year-old love child of the youngest sister, observes his mother and aunts, and as an adult narrator, remembers them for the audience.  Michael recalls this time when his family was on the brink of irreversible change soon to come when homecomings and unexpected departures are to transform their lives forever.  Dancing at Lughnasa is an award-winning drama by Ireland’s greatest living playwright, Brian Friel.

“Friel’s enormous accomplishment in Dancing at Lughnasa is to flush out from the humdrum struggles of daily life a sense of wonder and to make the sacramental felt.”   - John Lahr, Vogue Magazine Interview

The play depicts “the collision of the pagan and the Christian spirit as it struggles to celebrate the miracle of life amid enormous impoverishment.” - John Lahr review, Vogue Magazine Interview

Friday, 10/9 – Opening– 7:30 pm
Saturday, 10/10 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, 10/11 – 5:00 pm
Tuesday, 10/33 – 7:30 pm
Wednesday, 10/44 – 7:30 pm
Thursday, 10/15 – 7:30 pm
Friday, 1016 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, 10/17 – 7:30 pm – Closing

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Growing up in Neverland

A NEW MUSICAL FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
Written and Directed by Judy Navas
Adapted from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan
Music composed by Jeff Langley
November 13 – 21 in Evert B. Person Theatre
Special morning youth performances on November 13 and 20

Open your hearts to the art of living in the midst of wonder. A return journey to Neverland.

This new version of the beloved story of Peter Pan begins at the first rehearsal of the original performance of the play, Peter Pan. Author J.M. Barrie and a stage-hand are confronted with a curious problem: the “real” characters of Captain Hook and the Crocodile appear unexpectedly in the play’s rehearsal. Has writer Barrie forgotten to “button” shut his imagination before he left his writing desk? What ensues is a wild romp through three imaginative worlds of Neverland, Barrie’s mind, and the stage itself. This production features live-action, an original musical score, theatrical wizardry, fairy creatures, and puppetry.

Friday, November 13 9am – Opening 11:30am (School performances)
Saturday, November 14 - 2:00pm
Tuesday, November 17 - 7:30pm
Wednesday, November 18 - 7:30pm
Thursday, November 19 - 7:30pm
Friday, November 20 - 9am & 11:30am (School performances)
Saturday, November 1 7:30pm –Closing

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Fall Dance Concert 2009

ORIGINAL STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHY & DANCE
Direction by Kristen Daley
December 3-6, 2009
Dance Studio Theatre, P.E. 1

This year’s Fall Dance Concert will explore a wide variety of dance styles: hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and ballet. Under the direction of SSU dance faculty, Kristen Daley, the student generated show acknowledges the creative talent of our future dance artists. The show promises to be full of inventive movement, committed and heartfelt dancing and bold choreographic choices.

Thursday, December 3 - 7:30pm
Friday, December 4 - 7:30pm
Saturday, December 5 - 7:30pm
Sunday, December 6 - 2:00pm

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Company

MUSICAL
by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth
Musical Direction by Lynne Morrow
Stage Direction by Adrian Elfenbaum
February 19-29, 2010 in Evert B. Person Theater

Set in a vibrant, chaotic Manhattan, Stephen Sondheim's "Company" thrusts us into Bobby's world: sexy characters; hilarious lyrics; and his many attempts to find happiness. Bobby's friends want him to settle down and get married. But 35-year-old Bobby wants to know, "What do you get?" In the end, Bobby discovers what "Being Alive" is "really about."

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 1970 and Best Revival of a Musical in 2006. Set in modern day Manhattan, Company takes place on committed bachelor Bobby’s 35th birthday. Through a series of vignettes and reminiscences featuring his best friends (5 couples) and his past loves (3 girlfriends), Bobby examines the pros and cons of a committed relationship to determine whether it’s time to find one for him. Company features some of Sondheim’s best known and most beautiful songs, including “Another Hundred People,” “Getting Married Today,” “Marry Me a Little,” “Barcelona,” “Ladies Who Lunch,” and “Being Alive.”

Thursday, 2/18 – Opening– 7:30 pm
Saturday, 2/20 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, 2/21 – 5:00 pm
Thursday, 2/25 – 7:30 pm
Friday, 2/26 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, 2/27 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, 2/28 – Closing – 2:00 pm

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The Imaginary Invalid

A COMIC FARCE
by Molière
Directed by Paul Draper
March 19-27, 2010 in Evert B. Person Theatre

Eccentric and very rich Argan, a self-centered hypochondriac preoccupied with body functions, will do anything to defeat his fear of dying—including marrying his daughter Angelique to an idiot man-boy whose main qualifications are that he is in Med School, his father is a doctor and his uncle’s a pharmacist.  Witty, wily servant Toinette creates a series of outrageous tricks and disguises that force Argan to accept that his greedy second wife is scheming for his money, and to see that Angelique truly loves him. The Imaginary Invalid targets medical quacks and unfaithful wives —while skewering those who imagine they are sick at the expense of others.

Friday, 3/19 – Opening– 7:30 pm
Saturday, 3/20 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, 3/21 – 5:00 pm
Tuesday, 3/23 – 7:30 pm
Wednesday, 3/24 – 6:30 pm
Thursday, 3/25 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, 3/27 – 7:30 pm – Closing

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