Double bill of 'Good,' 'Little Women' to open UK Theatre season
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 2, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance opens their 2023-24 season with two shows running back-to-back in the Guignol Theatre. Performances for "Good,” by C.P. Taylor, run Nov. 9-11, and the following weekend performances for Kate Hamill’s adaptation of “Little Women,” by Louisa May Alcott, run Nov. 16-19.
“I am excited to start our production season with this fabulous double bill,” says Stephen Wrentmore, producer. “Both plays explore and touch on our humanity, sense of self, and those around us. They ask questions about how we live; they tell stories from the past to help us reflect on our present.”
Set in 1930s Germany, "Good,” by C.P. Taylor, “explores the creeping growth of fascism as it trickles poison into the ear and points at the 'others' and tells us 'they are the problem.'” The good Professor Hader must make some choices to protect his books, to protect his life. The play is a fever dream that examines how self-preservation can lead to self-destruction. "If I am not for myself, then who is for me?" says Halder.
Wrentmore also serves as director. "I am discovering the amazing subtly in which C.P. Taylor expresses and explores both human psychology and the simple slips that turn good into, to borrow a quote from Hannah Arendt, 'the banality of evil.'"
Performances of "Good" take place in the Guignol Theatre, located in the Fine Arts Building at 465 Rose St., 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 9-11, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel “Little Women,” opens the following weekend on the Guignol Theatre stage. Christina Ritter, director, says, '"We're excited to be staging Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel, using Kate Hamill's delightful and moving adaptation. The talented cast is loving the playful theatricality of this version, giving voice to the many versions of young womanhood that are so beautifully explored in this classic story. As Jo notes in the play, the stories of these young girls aren't great epic tales, but that's precisely why they need to be told."
Playwright Kate Hamill (The Wall Street Journal 2021's Playwright of the Year) honors the spirit of Alcott's original story while freshly interpreting it for a new era. This adaptation will have audiences falling in love with Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy all over again as they grow from young girls to little women.
Performances of “Little Women” begin 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 16-18, and 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 18-19. Reserved seating.
Tickets to all of UK Theatre and Dance’s Main Stage shows are available now through the Singletary Center for the Arts Box Office at singletarycenter.com or by calling 859-257-4929. Student tickets are $13 with a valid student ID and $20 for the general public.
"Good" is produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois. "Little Women" was commissioned and originally produced by the Jungle Theater (Sarah Rasmussen, artistic director), Minneapolis, Minnesota, New York City premiere at Primary Stages, (Andrew Leynse, artistic director; Shane Dr. Hudson, executive director; Casey Childs, founder), June 2019. Developed at the Colorado New Play Festival, Steamboat Springs, June 2018.
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