‘DURANG/DURANG’ TO OPEN AT UO ARENA THEATRE MAY 9
April 24 ,2001
Contact Joseph Gilg (541) 346-4190 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photo call for
"Durang/Durang" will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday,
April 26, in the
Arena Theatre at Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane.
EUGENE–
"Durang/Durang," a collection of comedies by award-winning playwright Christopher Durang, will open May 9 as the final production of University Theatre’s Second Season at the University of Oregon.The play will continue
May 10—12 and 17—19. Curtain time will be 8 p.m. with no late seating allowed.All performances will be at the Arena Theatre in Room 104 of Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane. Free parking is available nearby in the UO lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street.
Four short plays make up the evening. These include the endearing monologue, "Mrs. Sorken"; the parodies, "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls" and "A Stye of the Eye," based upon works by Tennessee Williams and Sam Shepard; and "Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room."
Avid theatergoers and anyone needing a comic lift will enjoy this evening of comic, adult works. Adult language and content abound in this evening of what Sigourney Weaver calls Durang’s "hilarious and gleefully disturbing… wit and mischief."
TheatreWeek magazine exclaims, "If you need a break from serious drama, the place to go is Christopher Durang’s silly, funny, over-the-top sketches, ‘Durang/Durang.’"
Craig Willis, a theater arts doctoral degree student from Seattle, Wash., is director and scenic designer for "Durang/Durang." Willis agrees with Howard Stein, a Columbia University professor emeritus, who proclaims that, "Christopher Durang is relentlessly entertaining….
"Blessed with twin gifts–originality and an anarchic spirit–he provides an audience with unruly laughter and outlandish amusement," Stein says. "One must guard oneself against the possibility of dying from laughter while watching a Durang play or reading a Durang script."
The production team working with Willis includes assistant director/dramaturg Kari Adwell, a senior humanities major from Lynchburg, Va.; stage manager Tara Warner, a sophomore theater arts major from Myrtle Point; and co-costume designers Ariana Schwartz, a sophomore art major from Eugene;
Darlene Espinoza Dadras, a senior theater arts and Romance languages major from Woodbridge, Va.; and Rowan Morrison, a junior theater arts major from Seattle, Wash.
Lighting designer is Peter Vomocil, a junior theater arts major from Corvallis, and sound designer is Elizabeth Flesh, a senior theater arts major from San Diego, Calif. Faculty technical director is Janet Rose and co-properties managers are Nanell Williams, a junior theater arts major from Central Point, and Lauren "Tink" Parfitt, a senior theater arts major from Portland.
The ensemble cast playing multiple roles includes Katie Plein, a sophomore theater arts major from Ashland; Cassie Schwanke, a freshman theater arts and Spanish student from Dayton; Kary Meier, a junior political science and theater arts major from Glide; Connor Dudley, a junior theater arts major from Hood River; and Darren Utt, a sophomore theater arts major from Lincoln City.
Other ensemble cast members are Jackie Jacobus, a senior theater arts major from Walnut Creek, Calif.; Nick Hamilton, a sophomore architecture student from Littleton, Colo.; Katie McClatchey, a freshman theater arts student from Spokane, Wash.; and Annie Branson, a senior theater arts major from Tacoma, Wash.
Tickets for this show are $6 each for general public; $5 for UO faculty and staff members, senior citizens, and non-UO students; and $4 for UO students.
On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, UO students will be able to attend the production for $3.Tickets are available now on campus at the Ticket
Office in the Erb Memorial Union,
1222 E. 13th Ave., (541) 346-4363. New this
year, tickets will be sold only on days of performances at the University Theatre
Box Office in Robinson Theatre at Villard Hall, 346-4191.
For more information, browse <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~theatre/> or call the University Theatre Development Office, 346-4190. A taped message about University Theatre productions and activities also is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2287.
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