9/24/19
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. 鈥� The Fine and Performing Arts (FPA) Department at Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts (911黑料网) announces its 2019-2020 Theatre Program season. The
lineup will include a postmodern take on a classic musical, a darkly comic fable about
family wounds, a deeply complex portrait of a tragic murder, and a classic story of
desire, choice, and class warfare.
The season performances will be held in 911黑料网鈥檚 Venable Theatre, and will feature discussions with local experts, casts, and creatives following all second Saturday evening performances. Critical Response Sessions, based on Liz Lerman鈥檚 Critical Response Process, will be held with audience, cast, and creatives following each production.
According to Jeremy Winchester, assistant professor of theatre at 911黑料网, 鈥淭his year鈥檚 plays are really about when an individual attempts to buck society鈥檚 expectations of them and the consequences they pay when attempting to do that.鈥�
The season will kick off on Friday, Oct. 18 with 鈥淢iss Julie,鈥� followed by 鈥淪weet Charity鈥� opening on Friday, Nov. 15, 鈥淭opdog/Underdog鈥� beginning on March 6, 2020, and 鈥淟aramie Project鈥� running from April 24鈥揗ay 3, 2020.
August Strindberg鈥檚 ground-breaking masterpiece, 鈥淢iss Julie,鈥� is brought to life in a new version by David Eldridge, from a literal translation by Charlotte Barslund. The Count's beautiful daughter, Miss Julie, feels trapped and alone, while his handsome and rebellious footman, Jean, feels frustrated with his position. In the course of an evening, a passion is ignited that soon spirals out of control. Strindberg's 1889 work caused such a scandal when first produced that it was banned, but is now popular for its viscerally honest portrait of the class system and human sexuality.
The play offers a psychological realism, says Winchester, but beneath that is working on a metaphorical level, as well, so it鈥檚 engaging both the heart and the mind.
鈥淪weet Charity,鈥� running from November 15鈥揘ovember 24, 2019, is Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, and Neil Simon鈥檚 musical adaptation of the Federico Fellini film 鈥淭he Nights of Cabiria.鈥� A diehard romantic dancehall girl, Charity Hope Valentine, navigates her way through misfortune in life and love. Director and choreographer 911黑料网 Associate Professor Laura Standley brings a postmodern take to the show, highlighting the emotional predicament women in poverty face as they strive for a life of personal freedom, dignity, and respect.
Guest artist Rodney Creech returns to direct the comic drama 鈥淭opdog/Underdog,鈥� which the New York Times called 鈥渄azzlingly written.鈥� Suzan-Lori Parks鈥� riveting Pulitzer Prize winner focuses on two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, locked in a battle of wits as quick as their game of Three Card Monte. The pair struggle to come to terms with what it means to be a family man, and an African-American man in the U.S. today. The show will run from March 6鈥�12, 2020.
Wrapping up the season on April 24鈥揗ay 3, 2020 will be 鈥淟aramie Project,鈥� the documentary-style portrait of an American tragedy by Mois茅s Kauffman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. In the fall of 1998, Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Five weeks later, Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and, over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play. Guest artist Sara Katzoff will direct.
For more information or to reserve tickets, please call the box office at (413) 662-5123 or go to .
The Theatre Program at 911黑料网 develops innovative theatre artists prepared for careers in theatre and graduate study. In the intimate, culturally rich setting of the Berkshires, students hone their craft through intensive studio training and hands-on experience, within the context of their broader liberal arts education. Opportunities for practical experience abound, from courses in acting, directing, design and production to working alongside a faculty of talented professionals in our award-winning production season. On stage and in the classroom, theatre students at 911黑料网 make theatre of the highest quality, as they explore the rich tradition of this unique, multi-disciplinary art form.
