The Violet Hour
by Richard Greenberg
It’s April 1st, 1919, and young publisher John Pace Seavering is torn between publishing his best friend’s sprawling novel or his mistress’ memoir for his first venture in the publishing world. When a mysterious printing machine arrives outside his office, events take an unexpected and uproarious turn in this deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny exploration of friendship and fate.
“Richard Greenberg’s luminous, mysterious, emotionally churning tragicomedy, The Violet Hour, is a wondrous piece of work… This is the kind of bewitching play that makes theater a world unto itself.”
- Chicago Sun-Times
September 24 - 27 in Studio 115
Reckless
by Craig Lucas
Late one Christmas night, as Rachel and her husband Tom are about to settle down for bed, Tom reveals to her that he has hired an assassin to kill her. With this, Rachel embarks on a picaresque adventure leading her everywhere, from a string of ineffective psychiatrists to the hit game show “Your Mother Or Your Wife,” in hopes of finding direction in her life.
“Reckless…has a simple emotional pull akin to that of a Crosby ballad born of the lonely World War II home front, it yanks us through every conceivable absurdist hoop, fracturing narrative, language and characterization on the way to its rending destination."
- The New York Times
October 22 - 25 in Studio 115
Reefer Madness
Book by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, Lyrics by Kevin Murphy, Music by Dan Studney
Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, two wholesome teens in love, are sucked into a world of sin, depravity, and hilarity when they take their first puffs of the devil drug “Reefer.” Witty political satire meets deliriously silly circumstances in this “hit” musical about drugs, death, and other wholesome family values.
"…the movie's unintentional humor made it a midnight movie staple on college campuses in the '60s. But while the movie is so glaringly bad, the Off-Broadway musical of Reefer Madness …is deliberately outlandish and silly. And that's what makes it so good …a giggle-stick from beginning to end."
- The New York Daily News
November 12 - 22 in Studio 115
Almost, Maine
by John Cariani
Love is in the air on a cold, snowy Friday night in the town of Almost, Maine. For the people of Almost, nothing short of true love is on the line, and this starry Friday night will go down in their memories, for better or worse. In a single night, the people of Almost will fall in love, bruise their knees, and mend their hearts—almost.
“A charmer… Unexpected magic lingers in the air like someone’s breath on a cold winter’s night. John Cariani aims for the heart by way of the funny bone.”
- The Star-LedgerFebruary 11 - 14 in Studio 115
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s iconic play Romeo and Juliet captures the boundless joy and youthful innocence of first love in full and tender flower, and the heartrending tragedy of fate’s unwitting intervention. UMW christens its newly-renovated Klein Theatre with this classic tale of Romeo’s forbidden love for Juliet, and the violent hatred that dooms them to eternity.
April 1-17, 2010
Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
No performance on April 4.
Klein Theatre
DuPont Hall
$14 standard admission, $12 students and senior citizens, $6 UMW ID
540-654-111
Tickets to productions in Studio 115 are free and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis one hour before performances at Studio 115 in duPont Hall.
