SPRING SCHEDULE
BECKY'S NEW CAR
By Steven Dietz
Directed by Zac Curtis
7:30 p.m. Feb. 28-March 3; 2 p.m. March 4; Hartung
“When a woman says she wants new shoes, what she really wants is a new job. When she says she wants a new house, she wants a new husband. And when she says she wants a new car, she wants a new life.”
Becky Foster is content with her husband of 28 years, her outspoken 26-year-old son and her steady job at a car dealership. But when millionaire widower Walter Flood steps into her office looking to buy a car, or several, Becky forgets to correct him when he assumes she too is newly widowed. Balancing two relationships in a double life will test her limits in this hilariously complex comedy about finding happiness in what we have.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
By Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with music by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by David Lee-Painter
7:30 p.m. April 26-28, May 3-5; 2 p.m. April 29; Hartung
“Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!”
One of Broadway’s greatest musical farces, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000-year-old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. When Pseudolus, a wily, lazy, cheating slave, discovers his master’s son is in love with the girl next door — a courtesan — he promises to help win her heart in exchange for his freedom. Satire, puns and cases of mistaken identity abound as Pseudolus concocts a plan so outrageous the whole neighborhood ends up playing a part — whether they know it or not.
PREVIOUS ACADEMIC YEAR PRODUCTIONS:
ADORATION OF DORA
By Lojo Simon
Directed by Robert Caisley
7:30 p.m. Sept. 29,30, Oct. 1, 6-8; 2 p.m. Oct. 2, 9; Hartung
Hartung Theater Adoration of Dora explores the nature of art and creativity through the story of surrealist photographer and one of Picasso’s many lovers, Dora Maar. Already an accomplished photographer when she and Picasso met in 1936, Maar is perhaps best known for being Picasso’s “Weeping Woman,” the subject of numerous portraits painted during and after the Spanish Civil War. Adoration of Dora explores the conflict that Maar felt as both artist and muse to one of the most revered creative geniuses of the 20th century. The production is co-sponsored by the UI Humanities Exploration Project.
Read updates on the production process at Lojo's blog.
WINTER'S TALE
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Chris DuVal
7:30 p.m. Nov. 3-5, 10-12; 2 p.m. Nov. 6,13; Hartung
A Shakespearean romance, Winter’s Tale tells the story of Leontes, King of Sicilia, a man whose unbridled jealousy threatens to destroy his family. After sending his wife to prison on charges of adultery, he orders his newborn daughter abandoned. Thanks to the kind hand of a shepherd, the young royal Perdita survives. An unforeseen marriage will reveal Perdita’s heritage and reunite a broken family.
