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The Plays
2008 Season | July 15 - August 3, 2008
All's Well That End's Well
Directed by John Neville-Andrews
"Who cannot be crushed with a plot?" Act IV Scene III
Is Helena devious and obsessive in her love for Bertram, or honest and righteous? Is Bertram an unredeemable and disdainful rogue, or a young man in need of life experience before wedlock? This romance comedy, with its captivating themes of male versus female, society's view of merit and rank, and the value of honor and integrity, keenly exposes each audacious plot after plot, until all ends well -- or does it?
Julius Caesar
Directed by Gillian Eaton
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." Act III Scene II
Although one of Shakespeare's most popular and quoted plays, JULIUS CAESAR is also a play of paradoxes; a play of soaring ambition; a play of power abused; a play of dreams, superstitions, portents, passions and predictions; a play of subtlety and sophistication. All intertwine after the brutal murder of Caesar, to cause moral turmoil, searing guilt, the death of "the noblest Roman of them all," and haunting anarchy.
Three Spinning Fairies
From the Brothers Grimm, Adapted by Miriam Biskin
Directed by Sean Harmon
A play with a heroine that all children can understand.
Belinda wants to marry the Prince, but his mother, the Queen, will only allow her son to wed a girl who can spin flax. As a test, Belinda is locked in a dungeon with a spinning wheel and not allowed out until she has spun a gigantic amount of the cloth. Alas, Belinda has never learned to spin. Just when all seems lost, three delightful but terribly ugly fairies appear, and will help Belinda spin the huge load of flax if they can be guests of honor at her wedding. Belinda agrees, but when the wedding day arrives Belinda's conscience gets the best of her and she tells the truth. It is then that the three spinning fairies spin a fantastical tale of their own!
The Mikado
By W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
In cooperation with the U of M Gilbert & Sullivan Society and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra
One of the most popular musicals of all time.
This comic operetta has entertained audiences with toe-tapping music, quotable lines and colorful characters for more than a century. The plot twists and turns to indict British royal customs and privileges in the 1800s with logical extremes, infectious music, and roaring comedy.
