Summer Studio Theatre Company Announces 2008 Season at Krannert Center
The Summer Studio Theatre Company returns to Krannert Center’s Studio Theatre for its 18th season as a professional, repertory company. Under the direction of the U of I Department of Theatre’s interim head Tom Mitchell, this season’s selections will feature all two-person casts. Mitchell says that the small casts, coupled with particularly strong scripts, will allow audiences to focus on the quality of the individual performances and the strength of each storyline. All three of the plays, which will be performed in the round, will be presented in rotation from June 13 through July 26.
This summer's featured performances are: The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown, a delightful, modern musical; The Turn of the Screw by Jeffrey Hatcher, from the novel by Henry James, which is a classic ghost story; and Lanford Wilson’s romantic comedy Talley's Folly. The final two weekends of the summer season will feature six performances total of Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by James Hurt. The staged reading of this piece will feature cast members from all three shows in addition to other regional performers and is being funded in part by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee.
Show Descriptions
Talley’s Folly
By Lanford Wilson
Linda Gillum, director
In a small 1944 central Missouri town, two misfits find romance in a deserted boathouse—Matt Friedman, an awkward Jewish accountant from St. Louis, and Sally Talley, the daughter of the small town’s most important family. This charmingly romantic play by celebrated American playwright Lanford Wilson offers both humor and sentimentality as its two distinct characters negotiate a relationship neither of them expected to develop.
June 13, 21, 26, 29
July 1, 5, 8, 11
The Last Five Years
By Jason Robert Brown
James Zager, director
Kristina Engberg, musical director
This contemporary 2001 musical traces the development and deterioration of the five-year relationship between Jamie, a rising novelist, and Cathy, a struggling young actress. While Jamie tells the story of their growing romance in “forward time,” (from beginning to end), Cathy reflects on the missteps of the relationship in “reverse.” Author Jason Robert Brown, best known for Parade, Songs for the New World, and A New Brain crafts soaring melodies tinged with witty storytelling lyrics that easily blend tuneful pop with Broadway-style ballads. Though Jamie and Cathy hearts divide, their stories do connect at mid-point for a deeply felt celebration of what once was.
June 14, 15, 22, 24, 27
July 2, 12, 13
The Turn of the Screw
By Jeffrey Hatcher, from the novel by Henry James
Lisa Gaye Dixon, director
When a governess takes up her duty to care for two recently orphaned children, Flora and Miles, in a gothic English household, she discovers the curious circumstances of her predecessor’s passing. Soon, the specter of the former governess and her ghostly lover begin to torture the would-be heroine. But are the ghosts real or merely the projections of a young woman’s fears? This classic ghost story, perhaps best-known from the classic film, The Innocents, or the more recent version, 2001’s The Others, has been skillfully reshaped into a compelling two-person performance.
June 19, 20, 25, 28
July 3, 6, 9, 10
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
By James Hurt
Funded in part by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee
This script-in-hand reading depicts the influence of Abraham Lincoln on three poets of Illinois. The lives and careers of Vachel Lindsay, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg are interwoven onstage with an ensemble of players taking a variety of roles. The show, written by U of I Professor Emeritus John Ahart , was originally staged 20 years ago for The Great American People Show at Lincoln’s New Salem State Park near Springfield and featured a cast of actors that included students who would go on to develop impressive professional careers. This play returns to the stage as the bicentennial year of Lincoln’s birth approaches.
July 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26
Tickets and Information
The 2008 Summer Studio Theatre Company brochures were mailed at the end of April and tickets will be available for purchase starting on Friday, May 2 at 10 am. Ticket orders can be submitted by phone, mail, online or by visiting the Ticket Office. Information about the 2008 summer season will also be available online at KrannertCenter.com on May 2 at 10am.
Ticket Prices for Talley’s Folly, The Last Five Years, or The Turn of the Screw
Regular prices: $18 / SC & Stu 15 / UI 10
Matinee prices: $15 / SC & Stu 12 / UI 10.
Ticket Prices for Abraham Lincoln Walk at Midnight
$10 / SC & Stu 8 / UI 6
Abbreviation Key
SC 65 years or older, or retired U of I faculty or staff
Stu any child or non-U of I student
UI U of I student who is enrolled in the summer and has paid the Krannert Center fee
Performance Details
All performances are in the Studio Theatre; there will be no late seating.
How to Order Tickets
To receive the best seats available, order early. You may place your order immediately online at KrannertCenter.com, or by phone, mail, fax, email, or in person. Orders will be processed as they are received.
Online Purchase: KrannertCenter.com
Phone: 800/KCPATIX (800/527-2849), 217/333-6280
TTY; for deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech-impaired patrons: 217/333-9714
Fax: 217/244-SHOW
Email: kran-tix@uiuc.edu
Mail: Krannert Center Ticket Office, 500 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
In Person: Krannert Center Ticket Office, open 10am-6pm daily
Summer Studio Theatre 2008 Calendar-at-a-glance
June
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