2010-2011 Theatre Department:
A Season of Tests
Center for Arts and Performance · 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave
For ticket information, contact the Wisconsin Lutheran College Box Office.
Seating diagrams for Raabe Theatre and Schwan Concert Hall.
Learn more about the theatre academic program at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Raabe Theatre Productions
A Test of Honor:
Lady Windermere's Fan (A Musical Adaptation)
November 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13
Original Script by Oscar Wilde
Script Adaptation by David Eggebrecht and Jan Mary Nelson
Music and Lyrics by Jan Mary Nelson
Arrangement by Debra Tetzlaff
Orchestration by Kevin Becker
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Lady Windermere's Fan was Oscar Wilde's first comedy and first great stage success. With an uneasy mixture of Christian morality and glittering wit, Lady Windermere's Fan satirizes the superficiality and hypocrisy of Victorian England. Gossip, intrigue, misunderstandings and deception whirl their way through London's parlors and ballrooms until, in the end, true honor is found in one whom society considered the least honorable. This new musical adaptation is faithful to the play's original story line, with script and lyrics that keep Wilde's witty repartee in tact.
A Test of Faith:
J.B.
April 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16
by Archibald MacLeish
Directed by Jay Sierszyn
In the aftermath of the atrocities of two world wars, Archibald MacLeish wondered how people could retain hope and keep on living with all the suffering in the world. His play, J.B., was his response. Based on the Biblical account of Job, this modernized "verse" play reflects MacLeish's contention that turning to the Bible as a framework seemed sensible "when you are dealing with questions too large for you which, nevertheless, will not leave you alone." Though stripped of his fortune and family, J.B. (like his Biblical counterpart) refuses to turn his back on God. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1959.
Black Box Theatre Productions
A Test of Commitment: Three plays by Arlene Hutton
Last Train to Nibroc
September 25, 26, 30, October 1
Directed by Jacqueline Gardner (student)
The first play of a trilogy by Arlene Hutton, Last Train to Nibroc introduces us to the two primary characters in the trilogy - May and Raleigh. Meeting on an east-bound cross-country train in December 1940, these two young people discover they are from neighboring Appalachian towns. This seems to be about all they have in common at first. Religious and bookish, May plans to be a missionary. Raleigh is bound for New York to be a writer, having just received a medical discharge from the service. Although the repartee between them is sometimes as bumpy as the train ride, they eventually seem to be headed down the same track. "A blissfully sweet, romantic play quite unlike the typical fare offered in theatres these days." (NYTheatre.com)
See Rock City
February 12, 13, 17, 18
Directed by a guest alumnus
Picking up a year after the ending of Last Train to Nibroc, this tender and funny sequel follows May and Raleigh through the end of World War II and introduces the characters of their two mothers-in-law. Forced to live with May's mother and father, due to Raleigh's military discharge and subsequent inability to find work, May supports them with a job as a high school principal. Faced with daily rejection letters, constant criticism from his mother and mounting guilt from not being able to serve his country, Raleigh's restlessness grows, as does family tension, and May's love for Raleigh is tested. "A lovely chamber work with all the characters richly developed." (Curtain Up)
Gulf View Drive
March 3, 4, 5, 6
Directed by Kristen Kraklow (student)
The third play in Hutton's trilogy brings us to 1953. Having garnered some success as a writer, Raleigh and May have moved to Florida. The deaths of both of their fathers, however, once again bring their mothers home to roost. The arrival of Raleigh's sister further complicates their world. Their dream house shrinks and the turbulence of events just outside their door threaten their comfortable life, further testing the couple's commitment to each other as well as their ability to survive in a changing world. "An undeniably moving portrait of changing America in mid-century." (NYTheatre.com)