The Theatre Season
 
Wednesday, October 3; 8 pm
 

(Sylvia)

By A.R. Gurney
Directed by Dennis Black
Lab Theater
October 3 – 6 at 8 pm; October 7 at 2 pm              

Greg’s career is winding down, but his wife Kate’s is winding up. Then along comes Sylvia. A stray mutt from Central Park, Greg finds Sylvia witty, charming, and a terrific escape from the doldrums of middle age… but she’s no Lassie! Wife and dog go head to head for Greg’s attention in this touching and sassy romantic comedy for anyone who has loved a man, woman, or dog.
 
By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Lon Bumgarner
 
Anne R. Belk Theater
October 24 – 27 at 8 pm;
October 28 at 2 pm
 
Our Country's Good chronicles the journey of the first British convicts transported to the furthest place known to man in 1787: Australia. In effort to raise flagging morale and create a more humane society in the makeshift penal colony, the governor decides to put on a play using the convicts as actors. This unusual and enlightening undertaking results in the unexpected transformation of prisoners and jailers alike. Winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988, Our Country's Good is at once distressing and uplifting, vicious and hopeful, desperate and reassuring as it affirms the power of art and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. Contains adult language.
 
Dance & Theatre Guest Artist in Residence:
Anne R. Belk Theater
 
Performing
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
February 6 & 8 at 8 p.m.
and
Romeo & Juliet
February 7 & 9 at 8 p.m.
 
One of the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nation, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is the state’s only professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare's canon and other classic masterworks. Through its productions and education programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences.
 
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Each year, the Shakespeare Theatre takes a fresh, imaginative look at this perennial audience favorite. In the past, our mischief-making fairies have traveled on stilts, scooters and in-line skates. When starry-eyed young lovers and zany would-be actors cross paths in a magical forest, the result is one of the world’s most uproarious comedies.
 
Romeo and Juliet
In this thrilling tragedy, two idealistic teens are pitted against their privileged families and a society consumed with senseless hatred and brutality. Shakespeare’s play is a lyrical depiction of young love, and a thought-provoking study of the effects of violence and the redeeming power of devotion.

By Sam Shepard
Directed by Kelly Mizell-Ryan
 
Lab Theater
February 20 – 23 at 8 pm;
February 24 at 2 pm 
 

Set against a wasteland at the edge of the Mojave Desert, this gritty tale shows a dysfunctional relationship in all its glory. Unable to hold on or let go, Eddie and May love and hate their way through life. This Pulitzer Prize winning playwright's masterpiece artfully shows us the frailty of love between two people who cannot live with - or without each other.

 

 

Music & Lyrics by Greg Kotis
Book & Lyrics by Mark Hollman
Directed by James Vesce
Choreography by Sybil Huskey
Musical Direction by Randy Haldeman
 
Anne R. Belk Theater
April 16 – 19 at 8 pm;
April 20 at 2 pm
 

(A massive drought has staunched the city's water supply to a trickle and the government has privatized the public restrooms. But Bobby Strong and a motley band of unlikely revolutionaries sound an urgent call to take down the corrupt Caldwell B. Cladwell and his goons who insure that nobody pees for free. Winner of three Tony Awards, Urinetown catapults the traditional musical into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective and wickedly modern wit.