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Saint Louis University Theatre has announced its 1997-97 season of plays, and, as audiences have come to expect, it contains the classic, the contemporary and a musical.
The year will begin with Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker. The play takes place in 1789 and concerns British convicts exiled to a remote Australian penal colony who plan to put on a play. Against a background of barbaric punishments, Wertenbaker has designed the piece so that the actors play both convicts and jailers - a device that places on trial all of society's assumptions about what "civilization" means. One critic described Our Country's Good as "a tribute to the transforming power of drama." The production will be directed by Mark Landis. The dates for Our Country's Good are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 3 and 4, 10 and 11; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.
The second production will be the musical Sweet Charity, with a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Bob Fosse's production of this musical first appeared on Broadway in 1966, and it remains one of the wittiest of American musical comedies. Based on a movie by Federico Fellini, it tells the story of a woman whose honesty and true generosity, within her world of women for hire, are underappreciated. The score contains such hit songs as "Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now." Sweet Charity, directed by Michael Jokerst, will play at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 14 and 15, 21 and 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16.
The third production will be Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean written by Ed Graczyk and directed by Cristina Markham. The play takes place in a small town in West Texas, where the members of a local James Dean fan club are gathered for their 20-year reunion. They are only a short drive from the location where Giant was filmed, and one of the members had even been an extra in the film. The ladies' reminiscences mingle with flashbacks to their teenage years; then, the arrival of an unexpected guest sets off a series of confrontations that expose all of their well-hidden disappointments. The dates for this production are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 20 and 21, 27 and 28, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22.
The final production of the 1997-98 season will be The Learned Ladies, written by Moli¸re and directed by Mark Landis. Moli¸re spent his career poking fun at anyone whom he felt had it coming, including doctors, lawyers and the clergy; and the playwright believed that no one should be exempt from satire. In this comedy (Les Femmes Savante) the audience meets some women who are obsessed with pseudo-intellectual pursuits and some purveyors of the most vapid artistic pretensions, who consider traditional interests such as romance and marriage beneath them. The Learned Ladies will be performed at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, April 17 and 18, and 24 and 25; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19.
Season tickets now are on sale. The package price for tickets to all four shows is $15 for all students, $20 for faculty and staff or senior citizens, and $25 for regular admission. These prices represent as much as an $8 savings over the price of individual tickets. A brochure with an order form can be obtained by calling the University Theatre box office at 977-3327, or by requesting one by e-mail at utheatre@www.slu.edu.