Wake Forest theatre season kicks off with ‘Hayfever’

Visiting professor Leah Roy as Judith Bliss and senior Joe Martinez as Richard Greatham

“Hayfever,” Noel Coward’s 1925 classic, will kick off the Wake Forest University Theatre’s 2005-2006 season. The production will run at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23-24 and Sept. 28-Oct. 1 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 2. All performances will be held in the MainStage Theatre of Scales Fine Arts Center.

A fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina victims will also be held following the matinee performance Oct. 2 in the lobby of the Scales Fine Arts Center. All proceeds from both the matinee and the fundraiser will go to hurricane relief efforts.

Called “deliciously alive and fresh” by the London Times, “Hayfever” is widely regarded as Coward’s funniest play. It follows the adventures of the eccentric Bliss family and their guests on a weekend trip in the country.

Cindy Gendrich, associate professor of theatre at Wake Forest, will direct the production. The cast includes Leah Roy, visiting assistant professor of theatre, and Wake Forest students Bethany Novak, Laura Halsey, Joe Martinez, Michael Casby, Erich Jones, Katharine McEnery, Jonathon Furr and Emily Johnson.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students, and may be purchased at the Theatre Box Office or by calling (336) 758-5295. The box office is open weekdays, noon-5 p.m. For more information, visit the theatre website at www.wfu.edu/theatre.