UMW Theatre will continue its 2017-18 season with Dead Man’s Cell Phone, by Sarah Ruhl.
Performances will be Feb. 15-17 and Feb. 22-24 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 18, 24 and 25 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall, at the University of Mary Washington.
There will be a sign-interpreted performance on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. Friday Night Out, a pre-show meet and greet with members of the cast, takes place on Feb. 16. AfterWords, a post-show talkback with the cast, will be held after the matinee performance on Feb. 18.
Tickets are $20 for standard admission, $16 for students, senior citizens and military, and $35 for Friday Night Out, which includes beverages, hors d’oeuvres and a chance to win door prizes.
In this contemporary play, Jean sits in a café increasingly frustrated by the incessant ringing of a cell phone. When she goes over to put a stop to the noise, she discovers that its owner, Gordon, is dead. When Jean takes responsibility for the phone, she becomes unexpectedly intertwined in Gordon’s life and relationships.
Jon Reynolds, director of marketing and audience services for UMW’s Department of Theatre & Dance, applauds the play for its witty commentary on modern technology.
“At its core, the play is a warning of the dangers of being too reliant on technology and how being ultra-connected can ultimately result in being disconnected from the world,” Reynolds said. “In a sense, the main character, Jean, has inherited a disease from the deceased Gordon, and takes on the problems that he faced in life.”
Dead Man’s Cell Phone premiered at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. in 2007. This production was nominated for 7 Helen Hayes Awards and won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play. The play opened OffBroadway at Playwright’s Horizons in 2008, starring Mary Louise Parker and Kathleen Chalfant.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone is directed by Cate Brewer, associate professor of theatre. Scenic and lighting designs are by student designers Claire Crusott and Emma Bledsoe, respectively. Costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey and sound design is by student designer Kevin DiCicco. For further information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at 540-654-1111 or visit www.FredTix.com.