Purdue Theatre to present 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Theatre will present "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" by Martin McDonagh beginning Feb. 17 at the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts.
"I’m proud of our theatre department for producing this edgy, provocative piece of theatre," said director Gordon McCall, an associate professor of theatre. "'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' by Anglo-Irish playwright and Academy Award Winner Martin McDonagh is a dark comedy with violent action and adult themes. McDonagh writes to stir the pot, to provoke, to disturb and to have some wicked fun. He’s not content with the status quo or unafraid to rattle some preconceived theatrical cages. He's brilliantly subversive with respect to our accepted notions of what is politically correct in the theatre.
"Bored with the theatre that he experienced, he decided to shake it up, and shake it up he did. His subversive influence has awakened the world to a younger, hipper and often disturbing view of family, of isolation, and of violence generated by repression and humiliation."
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, 18, 22, 23, 24 and 25. Matinees also will be offered at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 19, 25 and 26. Tickets are $19 for the general public, $12 for students and $15 for seniors ages 62 and older. A special preview performance of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16, with all seats $6 general admission. Tickets for "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" are available at the Pao Hall, Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices or by calling 765-494-3933 or 800-914-SHOW. The Nancy T. Hansen Theatre is located in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts at 552 W. Wood St.
"Have a nice day!" How many times a day, or week, or month, do you hear this admonition? Be nice, play nice, look nice. Nice. But the arts, and in particular, theatre, does not need to be nice. Theatre should be honest, truthful, relevant, and engaging, but it is not a requirement that it be nice. The story presented in this play is not nice; it is powerful and disturbing, funny and heartbreaking - just like real life," said Joel Ebarb, the chair of the Theatre Department."
Purdue Theatre is part of the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts.
"The Beauty Queen of Leenane" contains dark, off-center humor, extreme violence, profanity, and is recommended for mature audiences.
Sources:
David Lageveen, director of marketing and donor relations for Purdue Theatre, 765-494-3084, lageveen@purdue.edu
Joel Ebarb, 765-494-3081, jebarb@purdue.edu
Gordon McCall, 765-494-3086, holtvedt@purdue.edu