NAU Theater promises
heartfelt shows

The upcoming NAU Theater season promises to deliver heartfelt stories with music, comedy, tragedy and an edgy play centering on homosexual characters.

"We're recapturing the hearts of theater-goers," said Kathleen McGeever, director of the Department of Theater. "These plays have at their foundation true human stories that delight audiences, yet push our students' performance limits."

Scheduled this season are:

The Fantasticks, book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music
by Harvey Schmidt; directed by Kate Ellis

The world's longest-running musical, The Fantasticks tells the story of a young boy and girl who fall madly in love at the hands of their meddling fathers, but soon grow restless and stray from one another.

The Fantasticks will play at the Clifford White Theatre at 8 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 12.

Twelfth Night,
by William Shakespeare; directed by Mac Groves

In Shakespeare's classic comedy, quick-witted Viola survives a shipwreck to be washed ashore in the unknown land of Illyria. There begins an enormously intricate story of surprising love affairs, mistaken identities, improbable duels and Shakespeare's incomparable poetic imagery.

Twelfth Night will play at the Studio Theatre at 8 p.m. Nov. 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 16 and 23.

The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde; directed by Robert Yowell

The Importance of Being Earnest is a classic comedy of manners in which two flippant young men pretend that the names are "Ernest" in order to impress their respected beloved. Both young ladies believe the name confers magical qualities on their possessor.

The Importance of Being Earnest will play at the Clifford White Theatre at 8 p.m. Feb. 27, 28 and March 4, 5, 6 and 7 and at 2 p.m. March 1.

The Little Dog Laughed, by Douglas Carter Beane; directed by Jonathan Sangster

Mitchell Green, a movie star, could hit it big if it weren't for one teensy-weensy problem. His agent, Diane, can't seem to keep him in the closet. When Mitchell meets Alex, a "rent boy," they discover together what true love can really have in store for them.

The Little Dog Laughed will play at the Studio Theatre at 8 p.m. March 31, April 1, 2 and 3 and at 2 p.m. April 4 and 5.

The Bald Soprano and The Lesson, by Eugene Ionesco, translated by Tina Howe; directed by Kathleen M. McGeever

Two hysterical, tragic and profound plays by the father of "Theater of the Absurd," Eugene Ionesco. NAU Theater has chosen an exciting new translation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tina Howe, who will be in residence during the production.

In The Bald Soprano we meet the quintessential British middle-class family the Smiths, their guests the Martins, their maid Mary and a fire chief determined to extinguish all fires—including their personal hearths.

The Lesson shows Ionesco's comic genius, where insanity and farce collide as a professor becomes progressively frustrated with his wretched student, and the student with her mad teacher.

The Bald Soprano and The Lesson will play at Clifford White Theatre at 8 p.m. April 17, 18, 22, 23, 24 and 25 and at 2 p.m. April 19.

Try to remember to see
deceptively simple 'Fantasticks'

The Fantasticks, the world's longest-running musical, will open the 2008-09 NAU Theater season with performances in Clifford White Theater.

"It's a beautiful show, a deceptively simple story," said Kate Ellis, associate professor of theater and director of the show. "It's a story of life in balance with the good in life and the pain in life represented."

The Fantasticks tells the story of a young boy and girl whose fathers want them to fall in love. Under the assumption that opposition strengthens devotion, the fathers pretend to be feuding in order to encourage their children's affection for each other.

NAU students comprise most of the cast, including Nathan Spector as Amos Babcock Bellamy, Angela Kriese as Louisa Bellamy, Tony Latham as Matt Hucklebee, Levy Baltazar as Ben Hucklebee and former student Sean Winsor as El Gallo.

Highlights of the musical include Try to Remember, Much More and I Can See It, performed by adjunct music faculty Chase Coleman (piano) and adjunct dental hygiene faculty Krista Duram (harp).

The performance, with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones, will play at 8 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 12.

Tickets are $12 for general admission, $11 for faculty, staff and senior citizens, and $7 for students and children. Call the NAU Central Ticket Office at (928) 523-5661.