August 26, 2008

New Purdue Theatre season to showcase flavors of love

"Variety's the very spice of life, and this season we invite our audience to savor the many flavors of love," said Rich Rand, chair of the Division of Theatre. "Come to our Marquee and Horizon productions and experience stories heartwarming and surreal, tragic and edgy, radiant and romantic, bitter and sweet."

The season will feature notable contributions by the Purdue faculty, he said.

"Professor Gordon McCall, head of our directing program, will direct two of our main stage shows, both classics, Chekhov's 'The Seagull' and Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing,'" Rand said. "Professor Kristine Holtvedt will be directing 'The Shape of Things' and will portray the legendary Madam Arkadina, her ninth role on our main stage. Professor Richard Sullivan Lee is directing 'You Can't Take It With You' and will play Sorin in 'The Seagull,' his 12th role on our main stage. Professor Michael McNamara will be the lighting designer for 'You Can't Take It With You' and 'The Seagull.' And Professor Russ Jones has designed a beautiful set for our season opener, 'You Can't Take It With You.'"

Rand said the Pulitzer Prize-winning "You Can't Take It With You" is a heartwarming comedy of epic distortion. The play features a variety of endearing eccentrics, including Grandpa Vanderhof who collects snakes, his playwright daughter, her husband who makes fireworks, their two daughters, the FBI, a wrestling Russian, an inebriated actress and a xylophone.

The play, written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, will be on the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre stage beginning Sept. 26. Lee will direct the production, which is part of the Marquee Series.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 27, and Oct. 1-4. Matinees also will be offered at 3 p.m. on Sept. 27 and Oct. 5. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $10 for students and $13 for seniors age 62 and older.

A special preview performance of "You Can't Take It With You" also will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25, with all seats $6 general admission.

Next up is "Blue Window," written by Craig Lucas.

"This engaging story gives the audience a window into the lives of seven friends and acquaintances," Rand said. "Over the course of an evening get together, we see their longing for connection, their search for identity and their first steps on an uncharted path into the unknown future."

It will be performed at the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre starting Oct. 23. Katherine Burke will direct the production as part of the Horizon Series.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23-25, Oct. 29-31, and Nov. 1 and 2. Matinees will be offered at 3 p.m. Oct. 25 and Nov. 2. Tickets are $10.50 for the general public, $8.50 for students and $10.50 for seniors age 62 and older.

Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" will begin Nov. 14 on the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre stage.

"The play is an intoxicating and startling journey of a conflicted family who vacation by a lake on a 19th century Russian estate," McCall said. "Romantic and artistic conflicts are portrayed through the banalities and self-absorption of real life, as the characters talk to one another without connecting, revealing their hopes and disappointments."

"The Seagull" is part of the Marquee Series and performances are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15, and Nov. 19-22. A 3 p.m. matinee will be offered on Nov. 23. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $10 for students and $13 for seniors age 62 and older.

A special preview of "The Seagull" also will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13, with all seats $6 general admission.

"Dracula," by Bram Stoker, will be on the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre stage beginning Feb. 27 as part of the Marquee Series.

"We are thrilled to welcome Gregg W. Brevoort, our guest director for 'Dracula,'" Rand said. "Gregg has directed at distinguished theaters throughout the country, including the Texas and Virginia Shakespeare Festivals, Perseverance Theatre in Alaska and the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont."

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28, and March 4-7. Matinees also will be offered at 3 p.m. March 7 and 8. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $10 for students and $13 for seniors age 62 and older.

A special preview performance of "Dracula" will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, with all seats $6 general admission.

"The Shape of Things," a play by Neil Labute, will hit the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre stage beginning April 2.

"In the play, art and love are juxtaposed in a relationship between Adam, a senior at a Midwestern college, and Evelyn, a graduate student in fine arts," Holtvedt said. "She orchestrates his transformation from a sloppy, unkempt boy into an attractive and desirable man. Lust, lies, deception and desire drive the characters toward the play's ultimate revelation."

"The Shape of Things" will be a showcase for undergraduate actors as part of the Horizon Series.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 2-4 and April 8-11. Matinees also will be offered at 3 p.m. April 4 and 5. Tickets are $10.50 for the general public, $8.50 for students and $10.50 for seniors age 62 and older.

McCall will direct the celebratory season finale, William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing."

Rand said the story was "a play of words, a play of forces, a play of plots, a play on love. A timeless tale of the taming of two wild hearts." This Marquee Series production begins on April 17 in the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 17 and 18, and April 22-24. Matinees also will be offered at 3 p.m. April 19 and 25. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $10 for students and $13 for seniors age 62 and older.

A special performance of "Much Ado About Nothing" also will be staged at 7:30 p.m. April 16, with all seats $6 general admission.

The Nancy T. Hansen Theatre and the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre are housed in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts at 552 W. Wood St. in West Lafayette.

Season ticket packages offering discounted prices also are available. For tickets, call (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources: Rich Rand, (765) 494-3081, richrand@purdue.edu

David Lageveen, director of marketing and donor relations for Purdue Theatre, (765) 494-3084, lageveen@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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