WFU Theatre announces 2003-2004 schedule and format changes

The Wake Forest University theatre kicks off its 2003-2004 season with contemporary plays as well as changes to its format. The annual offering will still include four MainStage productions and the Studio Series of six one-act plays, but this year the theatre will return to their two-weekend show format and run each MainStage production for consecutive weekends with evening performances beginning at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m. The Studio Series will now run during the fall semester.

This season’s MainStage productions begin with Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning, “Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches.” Directed by Brook Davis, assistant professor of theatre, this groundbreaking play about sex, politics, religion and AIDS is set during the mid-1980s when the AIDS epidemic was being uncovered and reflects the uncertainty and fear of our nation’s conscience. Performances are scheduled for Sept. 26-27 and Oct. 1-5.

“Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet),” Ann-Marie McDonald’s pseudo-Shakespearean romp opens Oct. 31 and continues Nov. 1 and Nov. 5-9. This comedy revolves around the adventures of unappreciated assistant professor Constance Ledbelly and her Shakespearean theory. J.K. Curry, associate professor of theatre, will direct the play.

In February, the season will continue with “Monkey Business” created by Murray Ross and Theatreworks and directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Sharon Andrews. Focusing on hot-bed issues such as evolution, freedom of speech, separation of church and state and due process, the production is a humorous take on the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. Show dates are Feb. 13-14 and Feb. 18-22.

The season will conclude with the musical “Into the Woods,” directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Cindy Gendrich. Packed with beautiful songs and inventive lyrics, this Hero’s journey is a “delicious spin on Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and other fairy tales.” This Tony Award-winning show will run April 2-4 and April 7-10.

Season tickets are available by mail (P.O. Box 7264, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27109) or at the University Box Office in the theater lobby of Scales Fine Arts Center. Adult season tickets are $36; $30 for senior citizens, Wake Forest faculty and staff; and $15 for students. Tickets for individual performances cost $12; $5 for students.

The Studio Series of one-act plays directed by theatre majors will continue with two plays in each of three runs. Productions are held in the Ring Theater and include: “Fifty Years Ago” by Murray Schisgal and “Tinkle Time” by Dana Coen showing Sept. 15 and Sept. 16; “I Dream Before I Take the Stand” by Arlene Hutton and “Betrayed by Everyone” by Kenneth Lonergan on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7; and Alex Gottleib’s “Stud” and Stephen Belber’s “Tape” showing Nov. 3-4. Curtain times are Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m.

Studio Series tickets are free for season ticket holders and $2 each for non-season subscribers.

The Anthony Aston Players, a student theatre group separate from the Wake Forest theatre and dance department, will again produce their student-directed shows this spring. Productions have not yet been chosen, but the dates are Feb.5-7 and March 25-27. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $5; $3 for students.

For more information, call the Wake Forest theatre and dance department at 336-758-5295 or visit www.wfu.edu/theatre.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Events