Lee University’s theatre season will offer an opportunity for audiences to witness four plays in its two theatre spaces, the Dixon Auditorium and the Buzz Oates Theater, along with a multi-site performance. All performances are open to the community.
This year there will be an overarching theme of “Leading Ladies” attached to each Lee University theatre production. The entire season features plays written by, directed by and/or about women.
The first play of the season is “Brilliant Traces” by Cindy Lou Johnson and will be directed by Lee University senior theatre major Madelaine Burgess. This performance will be held in the Buzz Oates Theater Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 3-5. In this play, an isolated man has an encounter with a stranger in a wedding dress caught in an Alaskan blizzard. The two characters, forced to wait out the storm together, confront their bitter outlooks on life and society and gain a glimpse into each other’s lives.
“Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson will be directed by Dr. Christine Williams, professor of theatre at Lee. Performances are set for Nov. 1-2 and 7-9. “Silent Sky” is set in the early 1900s and follows the true story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. It explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them.
In February 2020, “A Doll House Project” by Henrik Ibsen will be a multi-site production directed by Daniel Buck, associate professor of theatre at Lee. He has created an immersive version of the play set in three different time periods with the audience transported to a new location with each act break. This unique production follows the life of Nora Helmer, a woman who is caught in a marriage of illusion which is revealed after her husband becomes incapable of accepting a decision Nora made without his prior knowledge. Performance dates are set for Feb. 14-15 and 21-23, 2020.
A new adaption of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” by Kate Hamill and directed by Williams will show March 27-28 and April 2-4, 2020, in the Dixon Center. Set in the late 18th century England, it follows the fortunes and misfortunes of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, after the sudden death of their father. Left with no money and little social standing, leaving them vulnerable to societal pressures, the audience follows the reactions of the two sisters, whether it be with reason or absurdity.
Continuing the tradition of hosting a children’s theatre event, there will also be a special production on Friday, Oct. 25, by the ArtsPower National Touring Theatre held in the Dixon Center titled, “The Monster Who Ate My Peas.” Based on the multi-award-winning book written by Danny Schnitzlein and illustrated by Matthew Faulkner, ArtsPower’s musical tells the story of a young boy who doesn’t want to eat his peas and meets a monster willing to make a deal. The show is funded in part by a grant contract with the State of Tennessee through the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Online ticket sales are available within two weeks of opening night at www.showclix.com or through the Lee Theatre Box Office in the Communication Arts Building.
Tickets for “The Monster Who Ate My Peas” will be $5. Tickets for all other Lee University Theatre productions will be $10 for adults and $7 for children and seniors.
For more information on Lee Theatre, visit http://www.leeuniversity.edu/theatre/, call the box office at 614-8360, or follow LeeUTheatre on Facebook.