2017-18 Season: Secrets and Surprises

2017-18 Season

Secrets and Surprises

 

 

It Can’t Happen Here

Based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis
Adapted by Tony Taccone and Bennett S. Cohen
Ahart Family Plaza, adjacent to Buck Hall
September 16 at 2:00 p.m.and 7:30 p.m.

Written in 1935 during the rise of fascism in Europe, Sinclair Lewis’ satirical It Can’t Happen Here follows the ascent of a demagogue who becomes president of the United States by promising to return the country to greatness. Lafayette’s Theater Department joins libraries, universities, and theaters across the country presenting staged readings of this alarmingly prophetic cautionary tale to the public free of charge. Directed by Suzanne Westfall.

 

The Drowsy Chaperone

Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar
Weiss Theater, Buck Hall
November 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 p.m.
November 4 and 5 at 2:00 p.m.

When a die hard theater fan plays his favorite cast album, the characters come to life in this hilarious and loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. Winner of five Tony Awards. Musical Direction by Tom DiGiovanni ’96. Directed and choreographed by Mary Jo Lodge.

 

X-Mas Karol

Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Weiss Theater, Buck Hall
December 9 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30

The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future get the Hip-Hop treatment as they visit Ebenezer Scrooge in an original, contemporary take on the holiday classic. First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol still reminds us all of hope, redemption, and love–in any language and to any beat.  Directed by Suzanne Westfall.

 

Disgraced

by Ayad Akhtar
Weiss Theater, Buck Hall
February 23, 24, March 1, 2, and 3 at 7:30 p.m.
February 25 at 2:0 p.m.

Liberal pieties clash violently with starkly conservative attitudes on the subjects of religion, national identity, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, immigration, racial profiling, and the state of Israel in this riveting dissection of scraping away the veneer of civilized behavior in our troubled times. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Directed by Suzanne Westfall.

 

The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde
Weiss Theater, Buck Hall
April 20, 21, 26, and 27 at 7:30 p.m.
April 22 and 28 at 2:00 p.m.

First performed in 1895 and delighting audiences around the world ever since, this perfectly crafted artifice of humor, described by its author as “a trivial comedy for serious people,” is the funniest play ever written in English—and by and Irishman! Directed by Michael O’Neill.

 

Ten-Minute Play Festival

Studio Theater
248 North Third Street
May 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Directing students stage the winners of the Theater Department’s Ten-Minute Play Contest in a fast-paced evening that changes course every ten minutes. Free and open to the public, but tickets are required.