The Brigham Young University Theatre and Media Arts Department has announced its 2010-2011 season for the Pardoe and Margetts Theatres in the Harris Fine Arts Center.
Season ticket packages are on sale now. For ticket information, contact the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-4322 or online at byuarts.com. There will be no performances Sundays or Mondays.
The theatre season will begin with an adaptation of Mitch Albom’s New York Times best-seller “Tuesdays with Morrie” Sept. 8-18 in the Pardoe Theatre. The story portrays Mitch, who returns to visit his dying sociology professor, Morrie. They decide to write one final thesis covering such topics as family, love, money, regret, the world and death.
From Sept. 8 to18 in the Nelke Theatre William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” will be performed. This one-hour play has been adapted for younger audiences by Teresa Dayley Love. The play tells the story of Petruchio who sets out to win the love of the temperamental and sharp-tongued Kate.
In a collaboration with BYU’s School of Music, the de Jong Concert Hall will be the site for “The Magic Flute” Oct. 16-23. This fairytale opera, directed by Lawrence Vincent with music by Mozart, tells the story of Tamino and his feathery friend, Papageno, who set out on an epic adventure to find their true loves.
Next on stage will be the Margetts Theatre’s “Stage Door” Oct. 27–Nov. 13. “Stage Door” tells the story of 16 aspiring actresses living in a New York theatrical boardinghouse during the Golden Era of theater. They fight against discouragement, persistent suitors and the lure of Hollywood.
William Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” will be performed Nov. 10-Dec. 4 in the Pardoe Theatre. This unconventional tragedy takes place during the Trojan War. It is a unique play that questions love and heroism. Instead of whispering sweet nothings, the lovers bluntly spar with each other. Shakespeare eloquently presents questions about honor, intelligence and true love.
The program will start the new year with “Peter Pan” in the de Jong Concert Hall Jan. 19-29. This award-winning Broadway musical is based on the play by James M. Barrie. The musical tells the story of Wendy, John and Michael as they are whisked away to the mysterious Neverland by the mischievous Peter Pan. The play has been hailed as a captivating story filled with youthful energy and humor.
Based on the book by Dick King Smith, “Babe, The Sheep Pig” will be performed in the Nelke Theatre Feb. 2-12. This play is adapted for young audiences and tells the story of a piglet who dreams of becoming the world’s first sheepherding pig. The play teaches audiences how to dream and work to achieve their dreams – even when others don’t believe in them.
Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” has been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright and BYU alumna Melissa Leilani Larson and will be performed at BYU from March 16 to April 1 in the Pardoe Theatre. “Persuasion” is the story of Anne Elliot who is seeking the love of Captain Wentworth, a wealthy and eligible bachelor whom she was persuaded to reject eight years earlier. Wentworth must now resist falling in love again with the woman who broke his heart or choose to forgive her.
The theatre season will conclude with “The Diary of Anne Frank,” based on the book “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.” The play will run in the Pardoe Theatre May 25-June 11. The play is an award-winning dramatization of the journals of young Anne Frank, a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazi regime during WWII. Her true story is one of dreams, fears, hunger, anger and ultimately the story of the nobility of the human spirit.
For more information, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
