Includes "Phantom of the Opera," "Henry V," "Servant of Two Masters"
The Brigham Young University Theatre and Media Arts Department is announcing its 2012–2013 theatre season.
Season renewals and new orders are available. Visit byuarts.com to download the order form. Single tickets go on sale approximately four weeks prior to each event. For ticket information, contact the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-4322 or visit byuarts.com. There will be no performances Sundays or Mondays.
Fall 2012
- The season will begin with “A Second Birth” Sept. 25-28 in the Margetts Theatre. Directed by George Nelson, the play tells of Nasima, a daughter of poor Afghani parents who has been raised as a boy since age five to improve the family’s economic and social standing in the community. When she must finally give up employment and education in order to relearn to be a girl so she can marry, Nasima must confront the relationships of her past and the traditions of her future to find out who she truly is.
- “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” will play Oct.17-27 in the Margetts Theatre. Adapted by director Teresa Dayley Love from the story by Washington Irving, the play will show that things are not always what they seem in the strange town of Sleepy Hollow, where perceptions are clear one moment and hazy the next. Four actors will embody numerous characters and involve the audience in bringing to life the tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman in this classic story about the illusions we create and the delusions we harbor.
- “Holiday” went from a comedy in three acts to a beloved film starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, and now it will return to the stage to be performed at BYU Nov. 7-Dec. 1 in the Pardoe Theatre. Directed by Barta Heiner, the play tells the story of free-spirited Johnny Case, a young New York businessman with excellent financial prospects but poor social status, who finds himself engaged to the upstanding heiress Julia Seton. When Johnny’s plan to relax in his youth and work later in life is met with skepticism by the family’s banker patriarch, sparks fly in this sophisticated comedy of manners by one of America’s most lauded playwrights, Philip Barry.
Winter 2013
- Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” will start off the winter semester theatre season Jan. 16- Feb. 2, 2013 in the de Jong Concert Hall. Directed by Tim Threlfall and featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lush, romantic melodies, Broadway’s longest-running musical evokes the passion and drama of love lost and love found in 19th century Paris. A masked figure lurks beneath the opera house — striking fear into the hearts of all who inhabit it. When his love for an innocent young soprano forces the girl to make an impossible choice, she sets in motion a series of events that will change their lives forever.
- William Shakespeare’s “Henry V” will continue the season Feb. 6-15 in the Nelke Theatre. “Men of few words are the best men” in Shakespeare’s most famous play of war, adapted into a 50-minute production for young audiences. Directed by Meghan Sanborn Jones, this inventive, highly theatrical staging invites playgoers to consider the difficulties one must face during periods of disharmony. As the king of England battles for control of France during the Hundred Years’ War, all must learn “there is some soul of goodness in things evil, would men observingly distil it out.”
- “The Cleverest Thief” and selections from “Gone Missing” will run Feb. 27-March 9 in the Margetts Theatre. Two plays with a distinct and contemporary storytelling approach form the basis of these pieces by BYU theatre students (“The Cleverest Thief”) and New York City’s premier investigative theatre company (“Gone Missing”). Directed by Lindsay Livingston and devised from interviews, these works ask us to view life through an unusual and welcoming lens, providing insight into how we relate to the things we lose and the things we find.
- Carlo Goldoni’s “The Servant of Two Masters” will play March 20- April 5 in the Pardoe Theatre. Directed by Stephanie Breinholt, mayhem and misadventure ensue in this madcap comedy of intrigue, disguise and the love of people (and food!) by 18th-century Italy’s most celebrated playwright. The streets of Venice bustle with the hysterical adventures of a voracious and bumbling servant, two sets of misplaced lovers and a collection of farcical characters apt to make a confusing situation even worse.
Spring 2013
- The theatre season will conclude with “A Wrinkle In Time” May 29-June 14 in the Pardoe Theatre. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beloved children’s novel, this new stage adaptation directed by Rodger Sorensen will explore themes of love, faith and the importance of family. “On a dark and stormy night,” Meg and her family receive an unexpected knock at their door. Behind it lurks an unearthly guest with incredible news: she knows the location of the children’s father who has gone missing while experimenting with time travel. As they trek through space to find him, Meg must learn to harness the power of love in order to conquer the forces of evil.
For more information, contact the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-4322.
Writer: Preston Wittwer
