{"id":75081,"date":"2019-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-theatre-season-runs-the-gamut-from-reflections-on-religion-in-america-to-monty-pythons-spamalot\/"},"modified":"2019-09-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T00:00:00","slug":"uri-theatre-season-runs-the-gamut-from-reflections-on-religion-in-america-to-monty-pythons-spamalot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/uri-theatre-season-runs-the-gamut-from-reflections-on-religion-in-america-to-monty-pythons-spamalot\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre season runs the gamut from reflections on religion in America to \u2018Monty Python\u2019s Spamalot\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 23, 2019 \u2013 Preparing for the upcoming season, the 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre Department<\/a> has been navigating ongoing renovations in the Fine Arts Center. Some staff have made do with makeshift office space, while Department Chair David Howard\u2019s office is temporarily housed in the box office. And over the summer, hundreds of thousands of costume pieces were stored in J Studio to accommodate construction.<\/p>\n

But all has gone smoothly, said Howard. The department\u2019s primary work and education spaces \u2013 Robert E. Will Theatre, J Studio and G Studio \u2013 were made priorities over the summer, and auditions for the fall shows, rehearsals and classes have gone on without a hitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have collaborated with all these wonderful people who are working on our building. They know our needs and they’ve been very accommodating,\u201d said Howard. \u201cBut no matter what, we’re theater people. Theater people can get frustrated, certainly, but ultimately, we know our show has to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The renovations have not stopped the construction of a 2019-2020 season<\/a> that will pack quite a punch, full of humor and song and villains \u2013 a despotic principal, a five-headed dragon, a murderous king, a killer rabbit, and Knights who say \u201cNi!\u201d<\/p>\n

The season kicks off Oct. 10 with \u201cA Brief History of the Earth and Everything In It (as performed by Ms. LoPiccolo\u2019s Third-Grade Drama Group from the William Jennings Bryan Elementary School in Springfield, Missouri,\u201d<\/strong> which is being presented in conjunction with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Honors Colloquium: Religion in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had looked at \u2018The Crucible\u2019 and other plays that initially hit you when talking about religion,\u201d said Howard, \u201cbut this is one of the few plays that actually faces religion as a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

That conversation is presented in large part by \u201cthird-graders\u201d at William Jennings Bryan Elementary School, who are putting on a subversive musical to combat Principal Dr. Godfrey Marsden. \u201cDr. God\u201d has been reshaping the school and curriculum to match her fundamentalist Christian beliefs, as she also courts conservative voters in her run for governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that this is satire,\u201d said Howard. \u201cMuch like \u2018South Park\u2019 or \u2018Family Guy,\u2019 the issues and reactions are big, strong statements that we\u2019re hoping people reflect on. It allows us to discuss the world today and what we do when science and fact are challenged by belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Brief History\u201d was written by Cranston, R.I.,<\/strong> playwright Dave Rabinow, who has taught playwriting at 溏心vlog免费B站, and has been staged three times since its 2011 debut. Theatre Lecturer Rachel Walshe, who directed last season\u2019s \u201cThe Wolves,\u201d will direct the play, which runs Oct. 10-13 and 17-20 in J Studio, which is back to normal. (While the play is about third-graders, the production is for mature audiences.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis play is a very careful balance of intellectual thought, common sense, humor, warmth and a kind of goofiness,\u201d Howard said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a great play for Rachel. She also has children and one of them is around 8 years old, so she understands the vernacular. She knows what\u2019s a believable 8-year-old. That\u2019s something incredibly important to bring to the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November, the scene shifts from protesting third-graders to battling elves, giants, sword-wielding warriors, and a five-headed dragon in Qui Nguyen\u2019s \u201cShe Kills Monsters.\u201d<\/strong> A weighty comedy, the 2011 play follows the story of Agnes Evans as she tries to connect with her late sister, Tilly, through Tilly\u2019s obsession with the game Dungeons & Dragons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s spectacle, it\u2019s adventure, it\u2019s sentimental \u2013 but not in a saccharin way,\u201d said Howard. \u201cIt\u2019s about a young woman trying to get to know her sister using what her sister loved. Though you have this Dungeon & Dragons world, it\u2019s ultimately about people trying to make a connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-time director Madison Cook-Hines \u201919, who spent the summer working with Gloucester Stage Company, will head the production, which will include a number of puppets. It\u2019s one of Cook-Hines\u2019 many strengths. In the spring, she put on a one-night, independent play that she wrote, directed, cast and staged, and even created the puppets and props for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadison is a perfect fit for this play,\u201d Howard said. \u201cShe has a love for puppetry and a love of interpretation through unconventional means and this play needs that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe Kills Monsters\u201d runs Nov. 14-17 and 21-24 in the Will Theatre.<\/p>\n

It may be hard to find a theme for the season\u2019s first half. But Howard said, \u201cAct 2 is definitely about kings in turmoil.\u201d In particular: Shakespeare\u2019s Richard III and Monty Python\u2019s King Arthur.<\/p>\n

While the Theatre Department puts on Shakespeare every other season, \u201cRichard III,\u201d<\/strong> the tale of the power hungry, deformed, Machiavellian ruler, is not a typical selection, said Howard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about Shakespeare, the thing that always comes up is \u2018Romeo & Juliet\u2019 or \u2018MacBeth\u2019 or \u2018Taming of the Shrew,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never done one of Shakespeare\u2019s histories in the 20 years I\u2019ve been here. Or have we done a villainous tragedy to this extent. This starts at villainy and just goes forward. There\u2019s something interesting and juicy about that. Even though he gets his comeuppance in a way, it still doesn\u2019t slow him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRichard III,\u201d which runs Feb. 20-23 and Feb. 27-March 1 in J Studio, will be directed by guest artist and alumnus Joe Short, a theater production technician at Harvard University who directed 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s 2016 production of \u201ccolumbinus.\u201d The play will also feature an entire supporting production staff made up of students \u2013 costume and scenic designers, painters. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of students in the mix to start the process of getting more students in leadership positions,\u201d Howard said. \u201cThat\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMonty Python\u2019s Spamalot,\u201d<\/strong> the musical re-creation of the 1975 movie \u201cMonty Python and The Holy Grail,\u201d presents a far more bungling king, as Arthur leads Sir Lancelot, Galahad, Robin, and the other Knights of the Roundtable, on a quest for the elusive grail.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about the movie is the source material was done with $5,\u201d said Howard. \u201cIf you think about the other movies being made at the same time, it was ingenious. It was flipping film on its ear. The play does ask a lot \u2013 you have to have the Knights of Ni on stage and the Black Knight has to get his leg cut off \u2013 and yet to embrace the whole-hearted Monty Python, it can be made to feel like magic, even when done in a way that\u2019s simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paula McGlasson will continue her long run of directing the season-closing musical, with her team of music director Lila Kane, choreographer Dante Sciarra, set designer Cheryl deWardener, and lighting designer Jessica Winward. \u201cSpamalot\u201d runs April 16-19 and 23-26 in the Will Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think \u2018Richard III\u2019 and \u2018Spamalot\u2019 are a great pairing,\u201d said Howard. \u201cMost of us have some connection to \u2018Monty Python and The Holy Grail,\u2019 or this musical. Its tongue-in-cheek bawdiness will be a nice way to end our season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets go on sale online starting Sept. 23 for all this season\u2019s shows. For information about tickets, go to web.uri.edu\/theatre\/current-season\/<\/a>. For \u201cA Brief History,\u201d \u201cShe Kills Monsters\u201d and \u201cRichard III,\u201d tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors, students, faculty and staff. For \u201cSpamalot,\u201d tickets are $20 for general admission, $18 for seniors, students, faculty and staff. All performances are in the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 23, 2019 \u2013 Preparing for the upcoming season, the 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre Department has been navigating ongoing renovations in the Fine Arts Center. Some staff have made do with makeshift office space, while Department Chair David Howard\u2019s office is temporarily housed in the box office. And over the summer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-75081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}