2007-2008 Season

Fall 2007

Ubu Roi
By Alfred Jarry, translated by David Ball
September 27-29 & October 2-6, 2007
Helms Theatre, 8pm
ticket information>>

Equal parts silly and savage, this Alfred Jarry play caused a near riot at its 1896 premiere.   Ubu, more full of flatulence than fury, is the ultimate man who shouldn’t be king.  His ridiculous, brutal and brief rise to power is as full of hearty laughs today as it is of lasting lessons on power, politics, manipulation and more.  Ubu is hard to like but impossible to ignore, a scatological scene stealer with an infantile streak a mile-wide and an ambition that is as blood starved as it is misguided.   This is an evening of theater that is about breaking conventions and challenging audiences to recognize that utter ridiculousness and harsh reality, especially in today’s world, are never as far apart as they seem.
-- Individual ticket sales begin Mon, Sept 17

Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen, translated by Doug Hughes
October 25-27, 30, 31 & November 1-3, 2007
Helms Theatre, 8pm
ticket information>>

She’s back.  One of the most enduring, fascinating and perplexing characters in theater history is set to take the Helms Theater stage in this Ibsen classic.  Though written in 1890, Hedda Gabler is a modern woman for any age.  “Hedda” is afforded the single name treatment reserved for only the grandest of the grande dames of the stage…and with good reason.  Facing a life of being pulled down by the weight of her very own choices, Hedda sets out on a path of deception in a stunning and brutal attempt to regain control of her world.  Her actions, the reasons behind them and the tragedies they bring, will be a continued source of discussion and debate.
-- Individual ticket sales begin Wed, Oct 10

Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
November 29, 30 & December 1, 5-8, 2007
Culbreth Theatre, 8pm
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Start with a shipwreck.  Mix in mistaken identity, foolish pomposity, gender reversal and of course, a hilariously unconventional love triangle…and you’ve got yourself this most perfect Shakespearean stew.  Hailed by many as The Bard’s greatest comedy, Twelfth Night is an evening of carefully controlled theatrical chaos captured by The Bard himself, who writes, “If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.”  Deceits are unveiled, truths are revealed, laughs are unleashed and a future is foreshadowed to have as much potential as it does portent.  From timeless declarations of love (“If music be the food of love, play on’) to barbed tongue blasts (“Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage”), Twelfth Night tackles the complexities of the human heart from virtually every side of the equation.
-- Individual ticket sales begin Wed, Oct 10

Spring 2008

Songs For a New World
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
February 14-16 & 20-23, 2008
Culbreth Theatre, 8pm
ticket information>>

Tony Award-Winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s acclaimed revue features a collection of genre-hopping and soul-stirring tunes that invite a whole new generation to discover the power of musical theatre.  The subjects and scenarios skip across the expanse of history and cover a full spectrum of human emotions against a rich musical and theatrical backdrop that never fails to engage and delight.  Each comes together at “that moment,” that undeniable turning point where one must hit a wall or make a stand.  The scenarios range from the whimsical (Mrs. Santa Claus contemplating finally breaking the bonds of her marriage) to the powerful (a Columbus crewman standing on the bow looking out at the new world and all of its uncertainty, fear and pure possibility).  The unique combination of stories and characters makes us think about our own forks in the road and appeals to the explorer in us all.
-- Individual ticket sales begin Mon, Jan 28

So Careless
By Doug Grissom
March 20-22 & 25-29, 2008
Helms Theatre, 8pm
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Family ties are frayed, stretched and obliterated in U.Va. Drama Associate Professor Doug Grissom’s tale of three women wounded in different ways by their individual and collective pasts.  Hester, in her late twenties, seems to have given up in her battle to control her life and is a literal prisoner in her own house and world.  Rebellious and rudderless teen sister Berkeley has reappeared from another in a series of escapist jaunts, ratcheting up the tension level as only she can do.  Meanwhile, their mother, Meg, tries valiantly to keep a peace that has long since been shattered.  When a childhood friend reappears in an alleged effort to help pull Hester out of her darkness, she unleashes memories and long-held truths that reveal the most vulnerable roots of a tortured and fascinating family tree. 
-- Individual ticket sales begin Mon, Jan 28

The Voysey Inheritance
By Harley Granville-Barker, adaptation by David Mamet
April 17-19 & 23-26, 2008
Culbreth Theatre, 8pm
ticket information>>

If money makes the world go round, the combination of families and money can send it spinning right off its axis.  Therein lies the premise of this David Mamet adaptation of the famed Harley Granville Barker play.  When Edward Voysey finds his world turned upside down by his late father’s mismanagement and misappropriation of client funds, he discovers that a situational morality takes over the entire family and challenges his core beliefs and principles in a way that nothing else ever could.  Infused with a new relevance in the wake of the seemingly endless string of corporate scandals plaguing our society today, The Voysey Inheritance offers a timeless glimpse into our most basic, and troubling human instincts.
-- Individual ticket sales begin Mon, Feb 25

All performances begin at 8:00pm.