Take in a Show--or Two

Here are just two shows to check out on campus in the upcoming weeks.

'The House of Bernarda Alba'

The Department of Theatre and Dance will present Federico Garcia Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba." Set in the 1930s in a small village in Southern Spain, the show tells the story of tyrannical matriarch Bernarda Alba, who, following the death of her husband, imposes an eight-year period of mourning on her five daughters. Bernarda’s obsessions with family honor and socially imposed taboos clash with the secret passions harbored by her daughters for the handsomest man in the village.

Directed by Suzanne Trauth, the show is a collaborative effort between the Theatre and Dance Department and the Music Department, with the original music composed by faculty member, Dennis Cinelli. The English adaptation is by Emily Mann, artistic director for McCarter Theatre.

Performance times for "The House of Bernarda Alba" are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1-3; 7-10; 1 p.m. Dec. 2; 2 p.m. Dec. 4. Tickets are $15 standard; $12 faculty, staff and alumni; and free for Montclair State undergraduates. Call the Box Office at 973-655-5112.

'In the Blood'
Players will present "In the Blood," a poetic and passionate contemporary adaptation inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, penned by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks, Dec. 8-11 in the Players Theatre in the Student Center Annex.

"In the Blood" is directed by Michael Allen, assistant professor, Theatre and Dance, and faculty adviser for the Players organization. This gritty piece follows the trials of Hester, an unwed mother sheltering her five children under a bridge. Clawing her way toward a better life she is undermined and abused by those from whom she seeks help. Ultimately being driven to violently betray the children she had fought to protect.

Performing in the show are Nina Law in the lead role of Hester; Roger Casey as Chilli/Jabber; Gerald Vaughn as Reverend D/Baby: Shannon Hartman as Welfare/Bully; Jon Barker as Doctor/Trouble and Lily Floyd as Amiga Gringa/Beauty.

Located in the Student Center Annex, Room 111, Players is a theatrical organization that gives acting majors as well as non-acting majors the opportunity to participate in every phase of play production. Among the productions that Players presents are one acts and full-scale shows and musicals.

For more performances on campus in the upcoming weeks, visit www.montclair.edu/kasser.