The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance will present the following productions during the spring 2022 semester.
Rhinoceros
by Eugène Ionesco
Directed by Sanhawich Meateanuwat
Westhoff Theatre
February 17, 18, 19 at 7:30 p.m.
February 19, 20 at 2 p.m.
The sublime is confused with the ridiculous in this savage commentary on the human condition, a staple of every theatre classroom and 20th-century drama. A small town is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. As more citizens are transformed into rhinoceroses, the trampling becomes overwhelming, and more and more citizens become rhinoceroses. One sane man, Berenger, remains, unable to change his form and identity.
Legally Blonde The Musical
Music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin
Book by Heather Hach
Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture
Directed by Britannia Howe with Dennis Gotkowski, music director
Matthew Clarke and Guilherme Rodrigues, conductors
Center for the Performing Arts Theatre
February 25, 26 at 7:30 p.m.
February 26, 27 at 2 p.m.
March 1-3 at 7:30 p.m.
A fabulously fun award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical, follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. Action-packed and exploding with memorable songs and dynamic dances—this musical is so much fun, it should be illegal!
Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors, and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.
Fairview
by Jackie Sibblies Drury
Directed by María Amenábar Farias
Westhoff Theatre
March 25, 26, 30-31 at 7:30 p.m.
March 27 at 2 p.m.
April 1-2 at 7:30 p.m.
Grandma’s birthday approaches. Beverly is organizing the perfect dinner, but everything seems doomed to go awry—the silverware is all wrong, the radio is on the fritz, and the rest of the family can’t be bothered to lift a hand to help. And yet, what appears at first to be a standard family dramedy takes a sharp, sly turn into a startling examination of deep-seated paradigms about race in America.
Mary Stuart (Oswald)
by Friedrich Schiller, in a new version by Peter Oswald
Directed by Paul Christopher
Center for the Performing Arts Theatre
April 8, 9, 13-16 at 7:30 p.m.
April 10 at 2 p.m.
Mary Stuart is a magnificent play written entirely in blank verse about the rise and downfall of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland, who was also the cousin of the crafty and ambitious Queen Elizabeth of England. The play begins with a naive Mary returning from France to her native land, ready to claim her throne and rule her people. Over the course of three acts, Elizabeth’s machinations undermine Mary again and again, eventually causing her own people to turn against her, and enabling Elizabeth to imprison Mary. The play culminates in a final, dramatic confrontation between the two Queens—a faceoff which never actually occurred in real life, as, historically, the two only exchanged letters.
Emergence (Spring Dance Presentation)
Artistic Director Laina Carney
Westhoff Theatre
April 21-23 at 7:30 p.m.
April 23, 24 at 2 p.m.
