EUGENE–"Dancing at Lughnasa," the second play in the Robinson Theatre Season, will open Jan. 26 at the University Theatre at the University of Oregon.

The Tony Award-winning play, written by Irish playwright Brian Friel, will continue Jan. 27, Feb. 1—3 and Feb. 9—10 in the Robinson Theatre on 11th and Kincaid. Curtain time for all performances is 8 p.m. Free parking is available nearby in the UO lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street.

In addition, a matinee performance benefiting WomenSpace will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. Tickets are $15 each for this special performance. To reserve tickets and for information, call WomenSpace, (541) 485-8232.

"Dancing at Lughnasa" is considered Friel’s masterpiece. The New York Times stated that, "…this play does exactly what theatre was born to do, carrying both its characters and the audience aloft on those waves of distant music and ecstatic release that, in defiance of all language and logic, let us dance and dream just before night must fall."

The play is set in Donegal, Ireland, in 1936. The story revolves around the five Mundy sisters, their older brother who has recently returned home from a mission in Africa, the son of one of the sisters, as well as her lover.

Though they have their differences, these sisters love and care for one another, striving to keep their family together through the toughest of circumstances. Irish music and 1930s popular hits flood their home from a newly acquired radio as they attempt to maintain a bright exterior in contrast to the gloomy disarray of their personal lives.

When asked why this play was chosen, director Joseph Gilg (who also has some Irish roots) says the reputation of the playwright as well as the type and complexity of the roles were key factors.

"I think Brian Friel is one of the finest and most important English language playwrights of the latter 20th century," Gilg says. "He has been a major voice for Ireland and Irish theater. His use of language is terrific, his characters are interesting and the story he tells is compelling.

"I was especially drawn to the play," Gilg adds, "because of the forum it provides for exploring the role of women in a changing society, as well as the complexity of roles it provides for our student actors."

The production team working with Gilg includes Dan Koetting, UO guest scenic designer and teacher, as scenic designer; Alexandra Bonds, UO professor of theater arts, as costume designer; Peter Vomocil, theater arts junior from Corvallis, as lighting designer; Kathryn Reese, theater arts junior from Cottage Grove, as sound designer; Janet Rose, resident University Theatre technical director and lighting; and Jackie Jacobus, theater arts senior from Walnut Creek, Calif., as stage manager.

The cast includes Katie Plein, a sophomore theater arts major from Ashland as Maggie; Andrew Beck, a sophomore theater arts major from Corvallis, as Gerry; Jocelyn Fultz, a junior theater arts major from Monmouth, as Agnes; Portland residents Lauren Armstrong, a junior theater arts major, as Rose and Bekki Barnhart, a senior theater arts major, as Kate; Brian Henderson, senior philosophy major from Sacramento, Calif., as Michael; Katie Rogers, a sophomore undeclared major from Leland, Mich., as Chris; and John Elliott, University Theatre Scene Shop supervisor and instructor, as Jack.

Tickets for this show are $10 each for the general public; $8 for UO faculty and staff members, senior citizens and non-UO students; and $5 for UO students.

Tickets are available now on campus at the Ticket Office in the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Avenue, (541) 346-4363. New this year, tickets will be sold only on days of performances at the University Theatre Box Office in the Arena 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.

—30—

#P-2093/A&E