The Beauty Queen of Leenane

By Martin McDonagh · Directed by Jason Chimonides

September 27-29 and October 3-6; 8:00 p.m. · September 30; 2:00 p.m. • Waller Hall Mainstage

Cleaning up awards world-wide, including receiving the coveted Tony Award, this story centers on the life of Maureen, an aging single woman who takes care of her infirmed, selfish, and manipulative mother. Set in the late 1980s in a picturesque but depressed, rural Irish town, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, deftly blurs the line between humor and tragedy. This sharply intricate and dark comedy is filled with a series of deceptions, secrets, and betrayals as Maureen desperately seeks one last chance at love.

Citizen/Soldier
Supporting our troops—telling their stories

By Rick Kemp and the Ensemble Company · • Directed by Rick Kemp

November 1-3 and 7-10; 8:00 p.m. · November 4; 2:00 p.m. • Waller Hall Mainstage

Citizen/Soldier is an original, vivid and compelling dramatization of the true-life stories of men and women who have served in Iraq and have been directly affected by the war. Created by a company of IUP students—some of whom are Iraq War veterans themselves—this multi-media performance was developed through interviews with military personnel and their families and honors the various experiences of simultaneously being a citizen and a soldier. The result is gripping theater that is as topical as today’s headlines. This play contains strong and sometimes disturbing language and situations to which some audiences may object.

The Threepenny Opera

By Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill • Directed by Rob Gretta · Musical Direction by Sarah Mantel

February 21-23 and February 27-March 1; 8:00 p.m. · February 24; 2:00 p.m. • Waller Hall Mainstage

A Music Theater and Theater-by-the-Grove Co-production

A milestone of Twentieth Century musical theater, The Threepenny Opera rolls on unstoppably into the Twenty-first with this production. In their opera “by and for beggars,” composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht profoundly break from the standard opera and operetta forms of their time, combining a barbed political perspective with the sound of 1920s Berlin. Macheath, a notorious bandit and womanizer, runs afoul of Jonathan Peachum when he marries Peachum’s daughter, Polly, in a ceremony of doubtful legality. Featuring the universal hit “Mack the Knife,” The Threepenny Opera has been thrilling audiences since its 1928 premiere. This play contains situations to which some audience members may object and is not recommended for younger children.

Spring Dance Performance

Directed by Holly Boda-Sutton

April 4-5; 8 p.m. • April 6; 2 p.m. • Zink Hall Dance Theater

An IUP Dance Theater/Theater-by-the-Grove Production

This popular production offers a collection of work ranging from humorous to dramatic to inspiring to quirky. The event brings visiting artists and students together for a performance overflowing with energy and expression.

Henry IV/Part I

By William Shakespeare • Directed by Michael Hood

April 17-19 and 23-26; 8:00 p.m. · April 20; 2:00 p.m. • Waller Hall Mainstage

Henry IV/Part 1, Shakespeare’s historical masterpiece, brilliantly balances the worlds of the royal court and the rowdy tavern. Both a coming-of-age play and a study in nation-building and Machiavellian politics, Henry IV/Part 1, explores themes of intergenerational conflict, personal honor, courage, friendship, and the life fully-lived. In what is, at heart, a rousing adventure which grows in intensity and danger and culminates in the steely clash of contending armies, Shakespeare masterfully blends uproarious comedy and high drama and introduces us to three of his most unforgettable characters; the impetuous rebel, Hotspur; the king-in-training, Prince Hal; and the immortal philosopher and clown, Falstaff.