Performing Arts Spring Production | Mainstage Theater
Everybody
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
directed by Mark Baer
This modern riff on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life’s greatest mystery—the meaning of living.
Performance Schedule:
Thursday, Feb 23 at 7:30 pmFriday, February 24 at 7:30 pmSaturday, Feb 25 at 3:00 pmWednesday, Mar 1, 3:00 pmThursday, Mar 2, 7:30 pmPresented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Services
Performing Arts Staged Reading | Mainstage Theater
Augusta and Noble
by Carlos Murillo
directed by guest artist Ismael Lara Jr.
in collaboration with the IUN Department of Modern Languages
As part of a special collaborative project, the Departments of Modern Languages and Performing Arts will present a staged reading of Augusta and Noble, by Chicago playwright Carlos Murillo, directed by Chicago Latine director and educator Ismael Lara Jr. In Augusta and Noble, we meet Gabi, a 12-year-old girl who has lived her whole life amid a vibrant Latino community in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. Gabi is starting high school across the city at Northside College Prep, where she is quickly exposed to new people and possibilities. As Gabi begins asking questions about her heritage, including the truth about her parents' harrowing journey across the border to the United States, she struggles to discover exactly where in this world she belongs. Told in English peppered with Spanish, this play celebrates the rich history and resilience of the many immigrants who call Chicago home.
Performance: Thursday, March 30th, 2pm
Presented by arrangement with Dramatic Publishing and with funding from the IU Northwest ODEMA Diversity Fellows Program.
Performing Arts Fall Production | Mainstage Theater
A Bright New Boise
by Samuel D. Hunter
directed by Mark Baer
In the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho, someone is summoning The Rapture. Will, who has fled his rural hometown after a scandal at his Evangelical church, comes to the Hobby Lobby, not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, his brooding teenage son, whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. Alex works there along with Leroy, his adopted brother and protector, and Anna, a hapless young woman who reads bland fiction but hopes for dramatic endings. As their manager, foul-mouthed Pauline, tries ceaselessly to find order (and profit) in the chaos of small business, these lost souls of the Hobby Lobby confront an unyielding world through the beige-tinted impossibility of modern faith.
Performance Schedule:
Thursday, October 6 - 7:30pm Friday, October 7 - 7:30pm Saturday, October 8 - 3:00pm Thursday, October 13 - 7:30pm Friday, October 14 - 7:30pm Saturday, October 15 - 3:00pm Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
