Programs from UMN Morris Theatre Discipline and Meiningens productions.
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Art, November 3-7, 2010
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Art by Yasmina Reza and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: A translation of a French-language play, Art is about one man, Serge, who buys an expensive painting, a white canvas with a few white lines, and the reactions of his friends, Marc and Yvan, to his purchase. Marc responds with shock and anger; for him, Serge's purchase of the painting is a cruel joke. Yvan tries to mediate the hostility between Serge and Marc, at the cost of redirecting them to himself. As the conversations moves from the theoretical to the personal, the three friends are forced to ask questions not only about the nature of art, but about the nature of friendship.
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As You Like It, April 22-24, 2010
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: In one of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic pastoral comedies, we follow the young heroine Rosalind from the court of her vindictive uncle, Duke Frederick, into the Eden-like Forest of Arden, where her banished father is living in exile. In order to avoid running into trouble, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, “Ganymede,” and, accompanied by her faithful cousin Celia and the court clown, Touchstone, makes her way into the woods. She soon encounters the young, handsome Orlando, who is also fleeing from Duke Frederick’s court, and who is sick with love for Rosalind. Still disguised as Ganymede, Rosalind tests Orlando’s feelings for her and teaches him about the nature of true love; by the end of the play, four love matches have been made in the forest. As You Like It is an entertaining and touching exploration of life, death, love, family and the bonds that tie us together.
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Jack and the Beanstalk, April 24-25, 2009
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota Morris production of Jack and the Beanstalk dramatized by William Glennon and directed by Kelli Tucker.
Synopsis: There is much more to this play than Jack and a beanstalk. Of course, there's the proverbial giant, but there is also the giant's overworked, over-wrought wife, an aria-singing harp, a golden-egg-laying chicken with performance anxiety, and a blue-eyed stranger who looks surprisingly like Jack's long-lost father. Naturally, there's the village at the foot of the beanstalk and the giant's home in the sky, but there is also, 10 years earlier, a sailing ship caught in a storm off the coast of Pago Pago ("or was it Bora Bora") with its blue-eyed master pulled mysteriously from the wreckage by a giant hand. Certainly, there's Jack's distressed mother and the peddler who sells Jack the magic beans, but there is also the peddler's story of having bought the beans from a blue-eyed stranger; the Ladies Plum and Pomegranate, who provide the comic relief in Jack's village; and Jack's pals, including a rough and ready tomboy named Adelaid.
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Of Mice & Men, February 26-28, 2009
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck and directed by Siobhan Bremer.
Synopsis: Based on the classic novella written by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two great friends and their struggle to live the American dream. George and Lennie have been traveling together from ranch to ranch for years, working hard to make ends meet and save enough for a place of their own. The two are polar opposites: George is intelligent, quick and small, while Lennie is slow-minded, childlike, and giant. Though they are different, they care deeply about each other. They have been dreaming for years to save enough for a little land of their own, and when they are both hired to a new job they believe that they may finally achieve their goal. But trouble begins to brew when one of the bosses’ wife becomes too interested in the infatuated Lennie…Tragic yet beautiful, Of Mice and Men is an extremely popular play that has become a staple of American theatre.
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Our Town, November 6-8, 2008
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production Our Town by Thornton Wilder and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: A landmark in American drama, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town tells the story of a small town, Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, in order to tell us the story of every town, the whole world over. Narrated by the “Stage Manager”, we follow the Gibbs and Webb families, residents of Grover’s Corners, through twelve years of life changes -- from the mundane in Act I, “Daily Life,” to the romantic in Act II, “Love and Marriage,” to the devastating in Act III, “Death and Eternity.” Through the young lovers Emily and George, their strong and loving parents, and the many other Grover’s Corners’ locals, Wilder delivers universal truths about what it means to be human. “Oh, earth,” Emily Webb exclaims towards the play’s end, “you’re too wonderful for anyone to realize you.” With humor, wit, and exceptionally powerful storytelling, Our Town offers a unique opportunity for audience members to make precisely that realization.
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Seussical, April 23-30, 2008
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Seussical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and directed by Brenna Jones.
Synopsis: A musical perfect for the whole family, Seussical takes us into the world of Dr. Seuss, where we revisit beloved characters including The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie, and JoJo. The Cat in the Hat guides us into The Jungle of Nool where we see Horton, the kind hearted elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whoville. He meets JoJo, a Who child sent to military school for thinking too many “thinks.” Horton decides he must protect the speck of dust on a nearby clover, while at the same time protecting an abandoned egg left to his care by the lazy Mayzie la Bird. Horton tries to convince the other animals in The Jungle of the existence of the Whos, but he is ridiculed and put on trial for insanity. Only his loyal neighbor, Gertrude McFuzz, never loses faith in him. Eventually, the two fall in love. Now one of the most widely produced musicals in the country, Seussical weaves a story of friendship, loyalty, and love. Despite all odds, Horton and Gertrude band together to save the Whos, free Horton, and restore peace and unity to the Jungle of Nool. Charming Seussical teaches us the power of being unique, and the importance of fighting for your beliefs.
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The Birds, February 7-9, 2008
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Birds by Aristophanes, adapted by Peter Meineck and directed by Deidre Onishi.
Synopsis: In this classical Greek drama two men are disgusted with life in Athens and seek a new homeland among the birds
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The Shape of Things, December 5-7, 2007
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute and directed by Nick Lostetter.
Synopsis: How far would you go for love? For art? What would you be willing to change? What price might you pay? Such are the painful questions explored by Neil LaBute in THE SHAPE OF THINGS. A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friends' engagement crumbles, so unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships.
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A Lie of the Mind, November 1-3. 2007
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard and directed by Siobhan Bremer.
Synopsis:Beth has been violently beaten - to the point of brain damage - by her overly jealous husband, Jake. As the play begins, she is being cared for by her family. Her brother-in-law, Frankie soon arrives, trying to figure out if Beth survived Jake’s beating. Beth’s father, mistaking Frankie for a deer, shoots him in the leg, and then brings Frankie into their home to care for his injury. Meanwhile, Jake, convinced that he has killed his wife, is slipping into a downward spiral. His possessive and overprotective mother Lorraine, and his sister, Sally, care for him until he slips away from them, determined to see Beth, alive or dead, one last time. Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind examines what it means to be a family, and whether or not the family bond truly ties individuals together.
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The Wind in the Willows, April 19-20 & 23-25, 2007
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame adapted by moses Goldberg and directed by Amanda J. Holter.
Synopsis: In this animal fantasy, Toad is the rich playboy of the animal kingdom. His current enthusiasm is motor cars, which he embraces passionately without the formality of learning to drive. After several narrow shaves, his friends, Rat, Mole and Badger, ground him for his own safety at his home, Toad Hall. He manages to elude them and appropriates a police car, which lands him in jail. In his absence, the weasels take over Toad Hall, and Toad returns to find his elegant mansion in shambles. Toad's friends to drive the weasels out and restore Toad to his senses, but by that time he has acquired a new passion—airplanes!
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Greater Tuna, April 27-29, 2006
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Greater Tunal by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard and directed by Todd Janssen.
Synopsis: Greater Tuna is a comedy about a small town in Texas named Tuna, Texas' third smallest town. The wacky inhabitants of this town -- men, women, children and animals -- are all played by two skillful, transformative actors who must change parts at a rather breakneck speed and use inventive voicework.
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The Dark Castle, April 1, 2006
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Dark Castle by Sally Netzel and directed by Siobhan Bremer.
Synopsis: The Dark Castle highlights the journey of a handsome, but not-so-bright, young man, named Dimwit, on his way to save the downtrodden duchess Lumina, who is caught in the clutches of her evil uncle, the Baron. Lumina refuses to give up hope that one day a suitor may overcome the impossible tasks her uncle has set forth and rescue her. Even as Lumina's light begins to fade, her ladies-in-waiting--Lady Nozzle, Lady Ogle, and Lady Murmer--stay faithfully by her side. Inspired by the goodness that Lumina still radiates, Dimwit is helped along his way by a hermit named Hiccup and three formers suitors--Sir Grope, Sir Clamor, and Sir Snort--who all offer their own bit of advice to Dimwit. With the help of so many friends who believe in goodness and kindness, how can Dimwit lose?
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Stop Kiss, December 8-10, 2005
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Stop Kiss by Diana Son and directed by Megan Losure.
Synopsis: "A poignant and funny play about the ways, both sudden and slow, that lives can change irrevocably," says Variety. After Callie meets Sara, the two unexpectedly fall in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate.
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The Merchant of Venice, November 2-5, 2005
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: In the melting pot of Venice, currency opens many doors. A multicultural metropolis, Venice welcomes its arms to all – so long as they come prepared for the brutality of the business of trade. Young Bassanio wants to take a gamble for brilliant Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont. He is willing to risk all he has to win her hand, but all he has is not enough. In need of extra money to make a proper suit, Bassanio enlists the help of his merchant friend, Antonio, who takes out a loan from Jewish money lender, Shylock, on his behalf. Shylock is an outsider who has suffered persecution for many years, but when he loses his most prized possession – his daughter Jessica – Shylock feels a hurt greater than all that has come before. When Christian merchant Antonio cannot repay his debt, Shylock gets his chance at revenge. Demanding his due, Shylock insists that he be repaid in accordance with his contract: with a pound of flesh. Resourceful Portia takes justice into her own hands, devising a scheme to triumph in the courtroom and save Antonio – but at what cost? With humor and pathos, Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice tells a complex story of mercy and justice, tolerance and intolerance, generosity and greed.
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Proof, December 9-11, 2004
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Proof by David Auburn and directed by Tiffany Roufs.
Synopsis Catherine has inherited her late father’s mathematical brilliance, but she is haunted by the fear that she might also share his debilitating mental illness. She has spent years caring for her now-deceased father, and upon his death, she feels left alone to pick up the pieces of her life without him. Caught between a new-found connection with Hal, one of her father’s former students, and the reappearance of her sister, Claire, Catherine finds both her world and her mind growing increasingly unstable. Then Hal discovers a groundbreaking proof among the 103 notebooks Catherine’s father left behind, and Catherine is forced to further question how much of her father’s genius or madness will she inherit. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, David Auburn’s Proof is a passionate, intelligent story about fathers and daughters, the nature of genius, and the power of love.
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Blithe Spirit, October 28-30, 2004
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward and directed by Siobhan Bremer.
Synopsis: Cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, re-married but haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife, the clever and insistent Elvira who is called up by a visiting “happy medium,” one Madame Arcati. As the (worldly and un-) personalities clash, Charles’ current wife, Ruth, is accidentally killed, “passes over,” joins Elvira, and the two “blithe spirits” haunt the hapless Charles into perpetuity.
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The Hobbit, April 16-17, 2004
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, adapted by Markland Taylor and directed by Siobhan Bremer.
Synopsis: The classic fantasy about Bilbo, a young and extremely reluctant Hobbit, who leaves home and sets off with a band of adventurers to slay Smaug the dragon and recover an enormous treasure, discovering the ring in the process. Told with wit and humor, this entirely new play based on the Tolkien classic is especially designed for a small cast and suitable for touring.
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The Shadow Box, February 5-7, 2004
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer and directed by Christopher Anderson.
Synopsis: n this compelling dramatic triptych, three terminal cancer patients dwell in separate cottages on a hospital's grounds. The three are attended and visited by family and close friends: Agnes and her mother Felicity, estranged further by the latter's dementia; Brian and Beverly, whose marital complications are exacerbated by Brian's new lover, Mark; and Joe and Maggie, unready for the strain of Joe's impending death and its effect on their teenage son.
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The Mystery of Edwin Drood, November 5-8, 2003
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a hilarious, interactive whodunit mystery musical that allows the audience to enter the action and become the ultimate detectives. The show is based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel of the same name. In small town of Chesterham, England, the young and charming Edwin Drood has been mysteriously murdered. But by whom? His leering romantic rival, John Jasper? The infamous purveyor of opium and vice, Princess Puffer? The mysterious Landless twins, newly arrived from Ceylon? Or someone else even more dastardly and villainous? Dickens passed away before he was able to reveal the culprit. Rupert Holmes’ award-winning musical solves this predicament by asking the audience to choose which character is the killer by putting it to a vote. Staged in metatheatrical manner by the Music Hall Royale, a traveling Victorian theatre troupe full of just as many colorful characters as the roles they play, this charming and inventive musical is sure to intrigue and entertain any musical or mystery lover.
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Hyronomous A. Frog: The Frog Prince, April 11-12, 2003
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Hyronomous A. Frog: The Frog Prince by Edith Weiss directed by Kimberly Gamradt.
Synopsis: Hyronomous, an inept and lonely frog prince, lives in a bog in the kingdom of Spamelot. Hyronomous is bored and unhappy as a frog. He’s larger than the other frogs and hates the taste of flies. One day, the good witch Gloria appears to tell him he was once a human prince and it was a spell that turned him into an amphibian. To break this croak-filled wizardry, Hyronomous must be kissed by a maiden. In a hysterical scene, he learns how to walk like a human and sets off for the castle of Spamelot. He sets his sights on the spoiled and petulant Princess Gladiola. Gladiola is engaged to the painfully pompous Sir Lancelot Pancelot and he, of course, despises the frog at first sight. As Gladiola and Lancelot plot ways to get rid of Hyronomous, our green hero tries desperately to act like a human being. His attempt to act like a person at the dinner table turns into a hilarious scene... infuriating the princess. Luckily, he finds a friend in Delphinium, the handmaiden, and Aunt Queen Bea, who try to save him from the slings and arrows of the outrageous Gladiola. Our beloved frog finally gets his kiss from the handmaiden Delphinium, bringing about an ending full of wit and charm.
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Dancing at Lughnasa, Oct. 31- Nov. 2, 2002
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: Set in the fictional Irish village of Ballybeg, Ireland, Dancing at Lughnasa is a memory play, told from the perspective of an adult Michael. He recalls one summer he spent at his aunts' home when he was seven years old. The five Mundy sisters, all unmarried, live in a big cottage just outside of the small village. Kate, the eldest, is a schoolteacher; Agnes and Rose knit gloves and help keep house with Maggie and Christine (Michael's mother), who have no income at all. Their older brother, Jack, has also recently returned home. Jack is a Catholic priest, who has lived in a Ugandan leper colony for the last 25 years, working as a missionary. He is suffering from malaria and has trouble remembering many things, including the sisters' names and his English vocabulary. He has also clearly lost his faith and has a deep respect for pagan traditions and beliefs, much to Kate’s distaste. Meanwhile Michael's father, Gerry, pops in and out of his son’ life, keeping Michael and Christina on tenterhooks as to whether he will ever settle down with them. Gerry is charming and completely unreliable.
During the summer of 1936, Michael watches on as his aunts' search for and find the potential for love--only to lose it as the hardships of life begin to cripple them. As the summer ends and Kate loses her job (and subsequently the family’s financial security), the sisters face the breakup of their family unit and a future filled with heartache and tragedy. Brian Friel's multi award-winning play is a masterpiece, portraying the strength and bravery of five sisters who dance wildly in a final celebration of their lives, before they change forever
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The Little Prince, April 19-20, 2002
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry adapted by Rick Cummings, John Scoullar and directed by Kimberly Gamradt.
Synopsis: The Little Prince may have returned to his own tiny planet to tend his Rose and look after his Sheep, but for a short enchanted time he returns to us and comes alive on stage. This play/musical tells the story of a world-weary and disenchanted Aviator whose sputtering plane strands him in the Sahara Desert and a mysterious, regal "little man" who appears and asks him to "Please, sir, draw me a sheep." During their two weeks together in the desert, the Little Prince tells the Aviator about his adventures through the galaxy, how he met the Lamplighter and the Businessman and the Geographer, and about his strained relationship with a very special flower on his own tiny planet. The Little Prince talks to everyone he meets: a garden of roses, the Snake and a Fox who wishes to be tamed. From each he gains a unique insight which he shares with the Aviator: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly." "What is essential is invisible to the eye." At length, both the "little man" and the Aviator must go home—each with a new understanding of how to laugh, cry, and love again.
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The Laramie Project, February 14-16, 2002
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and directed by Ray Schultz.
Synopsis: In October 1998 in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming, Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old student at the University of Wyoming, was tied to a fence post, severely beaten, robbed, , tortured and left, alone, to die. His body -- battered, bloody, barely clinging to life -- was discovered eighteen hours later. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. He died five days later. The reason for this brutal crime? Matthew Shepard was gay.
The hate crime attracted vast attention worldwide, bringing sexual discrimination and violence to the forefront of public discourse. The Tectonic Theater Project, led by their founder Moisés Kaufman, traveled to Laramie in the aftermath of the murder with the intent of creating a theatrical portrait of a town coming to grips with horrible, hate-fueled violence. Over the course of a year and a half, the group interviewed over 200 subjects, some directly related to the case and some regular citizens of Laramie. Out of these interviews, journal entries, and found texts, The Laramie Project was born. Hailed as one of the most captivating and encompassing pieces of contemporary theatre, the play shocks, challenges, and moves all who watch it as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred and greatest heights of compassion that lies within all human beings in any seemingly average community.
