2006-2007 Season 

On the Twentieth Century Music 
October 6-15, 2006

The Exonerated |
November 10-19, 2006 

Purely Dance 2006 
December 1-10, 2006

The Crucible 
February 23 to March 4, 2006

More Fun Than Bowling 
April 20-29, 2006 

2005-06 Season

Babes in Arms 
by Rodgers & Hart
July 7-16, 2006

Merrily We Roll Along 
by Stephen Sondheim
October 7-16

Purely Dance! 
October 22-23

Bus Stop 
by William Inge
December 2-11

Comedy of Errors 
by William Shakespeare
February 24-March 5

Story Theatre 
by Paul Sills
April 21-30

Babes in Arms 
by Rodgers & Hart
July 7-16

2004-2005 Season

Talking With by Jane Martin
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft
Idiosyncratic characters amuse, move and frighten, always speaking from the depths of their souls. They include a collection of eclectic short stories told from the female perspective.
October 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9, 2004 at 8:00 p.m.; October 10, 2004 at 2:00 p.m.
Held at Williams Theatre

Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rogers
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed and choreographed by Larry L. Life
Rodgers & Hammerstein�s first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, having set the standards and established the rule of musical theatre still being followed today. Performances in collaboration with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic will be held at the Embassy Theatre
November 19 & 20, 2004 at 8:00 p.m.

Hay Fever by Noel Coward
Directed by Craig Humphrey
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
An evening of intoxicating escape. Light, luminous and charming.... and hilariously funny. Hay Fever presents the wildly eccentric Bliss Family as only Coward can.
February 25 & 26, 2005; March 3, 4 & 5, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.; March 6, 2005 at 2:00 p.m.
Held at Williams Theatre

Medea by Euripides
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft
A classic Greek tragedy, Medea propels us helplessly along, careening on the edge of precipices from which we get fearful glimpses of the darkness of human nature.
April 22, 23, 28, 29 & 30, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.; May 1, 2005 at 2:00 p.m.; High School Matinee: April 28, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.
Held at Williams Theatre

The American Classic Summer Theatre presents...
The Music Man
Book, music and lyrics by Meredith Wilson
Directed and choreographed By: Larry L. Life
The Music Man is a certified all-American entertainment with characters of every conceivable kind, and dramatic situations which are touchingly funny in their predictability.
July 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, & 17, 2005.
Held at Williams Theatre

2003-2004 Season

Where's Charley
(American Classics Summer Theatre Series VIII)
Book by George Abbott
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Directed by Larry L. Life
July 11-13, 17-20, 2003

Flora the Red Menace �August 29, 30, 2003
Judy & Me A Judy Garland Tribute �September 13, 14, 2003
All in the Timing �October 3, 4, 9, 10, 2003
Love, Passion and Redemption A Dance Showcase � October 24, 25, 26, 2003
Suddenly Last Summer �December 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 2003
Arms and the Man � February 27, 28 March 4, 5, 6, 7, 2004
Once Upon a Mattress � April 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 May 1, 2, 2004

IPFW Department of Theatre Announces 2003-04 Season

The Plogsterth Visual and Performing Arts Series presents an evening of cabaret featuring Rhonda Woods, hailed as one of the leading Judy Garland tribute artists in the nation. From the Trolley Song to Over the Rainbow and back, you�ll be enthralled from beginning to end. Ms. Woods� striking physical resemblance to Judy Garland and incredibly accurate vocal styling have garnered rave reviews for her gifted performance as Judy. Tickets for Judy & Me are only $10 and FlexPass members receive one free ticket for each membership. This show is a Plogsterth event and not included in the regular season, but what a great way to start the year at Williams Theatre.

All in the Timing
by David Ives
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft

In this lively and clever evening of one-act "play lets," playwright David Ives threads together an elaborate stress test of the English language as well as the audience's capacity for disorientation and delight. From philosophizing chimpanzees trying to recreate Hamlet to buying bread in the style of Philip Glass' music, these eccentric personalities will personify an adventure of wit, hilarity and just plain FUN! "Utterly delightful one-act plays that percolate with comic brio....There is real heart beneath Ives's intellectual tomfoolery." -The New York Times. If you enjoyed our production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile this is the show for you!!
October 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 at 8 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Love, Passion and Redemption�A Dance Showcase
Conceived and directed by Larry L. Life
Choreographed by Larry L. Life, Gary Lanier, Brittney Coughlin and Theresa Hornbacher

An evening of "total" theatre. Theatre majors and dance minors of the IPFW Department of Theatre take the stage with song, dance, and drama that create a spectacle juxtaposing gritty realities with liberating fantasies. A musical production with a wild heart and a fresh eye, filled with songs, poems, musings, wit and wisdom.
October 24, 25 at 8 pm. Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Suddenly Last Summer
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Larry L. Life

Tennessee Williams called Suddenly Last Summer, "a moral fable of our times". A young woman witnesses the shockingly violent murder of a man. In order to clear herself of suspicion, she tells a story of the death, which damages the man�s reputation. The man�s wealthy and powerful mother has the girl locked up in an insane asylum and a psychoanalyst is called in to straighten out the tangle.
December 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 8 p.m. Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Arms & the Man
by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft

In this timeless comedy, Shaw's blending of farce and drawing room comedy will appeal to everyone. Audiences will enjoy the exaggerated exploration of the absurdity of war and the ideal of romanticized love. Shaw's extravagant characters each take a wonderful journey of self-discovery. All in all, Arms and the Man is an optimistic view of the haven of life and love in the face of war's desolation. The characters embrace life with the confidence that basic human values will always find a way to prevail.
February 27, 28 and March 4, 5, 6 at 8 p.m. March 7 at 2 p.m.
High School Matinee March 4 at 10:30 a.m.
Williams Theatre

Once Upon a Mattress
Music by Mary Rodgers, Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer
Directed by Larry L. Life

If you thought you knew the story of "The Princess and the Pea," you may be in for a walloping surprise. Did you know, for instance, that Princess Winnifred the Woebegone actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that all the Ladies-in-Waiting of the court are in a "family way", but none of them can marry until Dauntless "shares his wedding bed"? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, both raucous and romantic, Once Upon a Mattress provides non-stop side-splitting shenanigans.
April 23, 24, 29, 30 and May 1 at 8 p.m. April 25 and May 2 at 2 p.m.
Williams Theatre

American Classic Summer Theatre XI
The American Classics Revue
American Classics Summer Theatre 10th Anniversary Celebration
Conceived and directed by Larry L. Life

"It�s showtime, folks!" The IPFW Department of Theatre�s celebrates a decade of the greatest summer musicals in the Williams Theatre. This high-kicking, fast-paced revue features songs from America�s greatest musicals: Gypsy, Damn Yankees, Funny Girl, Hello Dolly, Company, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Dreamgirls and Bye Bye Birdie. The show guarantees a rousing patriotic salute to one of the greatest of American institutions: The Broadway Musical!
July 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, at 8 p.m. July 11 and 18 at 2 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Studio Showcase 2003-2004
Studio Theatre in Kettler Hall has undergone an exciting transformation that allows IPFW theatre students and faculty to put a fresh face on the local theatre scene. Throughout the season, Studio Showcase allows student and faculty theatre artists the opportunity to realize minimalistic productions of theatrical works ranging from original scripts, to dance ensembles to monologues and one-acts in the Studio Theatre in Kettler Hall. Six weekends have been set aside for performance pieces to be presented in the Studio Theatre during the 2003-04 season. IPFW students with an ID, along with theatre season Flex-Pass holders will be admitted free of charge to any of the presentations in the Studio Showcase. All other tickets are $3.

Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft

As the last of Shakespeare�s four great tragedies, Macbeth reveals a world of bloody deeds. Darkness and supernatural forces loom over a hero�s triumphant return from war. Witches conspire to wreak vengeance against the unsuspecting Macbeth. Human reason is weak and the lust for ambition and power becomes an all-consuming sickness for this would be king and his scheming wife. Evil begets evil, murder begets murder and war begets war. Ultimately, the dark side of human nature prevails and madness leads to chaos and ruin.

October 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 8 p.m. October 13, 20 at 2:30 p.m. High School Matinees Oct. 16, 17 at 10:30 a.m. Williams Theatre

She Loves Me
Book by Joe Masteroff
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Music by Jerry Bock
Directed by Craig A. Humphrey

This romantic, musical romp through the seasons of love was the basis for the films "The Little Shop Around the Corner" and "In the Good Old Summertime" starring Judy Garland. Two co-workers at the same shop are involved in secret romances, with each of them writing secret letters to a "Dear Friend". The seasons change, along with their romantic prospects, both in person and by post. Beautiful holidays are in store when everyone�s heartfelt desire is finally revealed.

December 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 8 p.m. December 8, 15 2:30 p.m. Williams Theatre

The Mai
By Marina Carr
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft

A hauntingly beautiful and disturbing story, The Mai is told from the perspective of a young woman desperately struggling to free herself from her dysfunctional families� past. A mix of tragedy and comedy, The Mai explores the destructive forces at work in a matriarchal Irish family who approach life with a fiery passion but seem always to falter in their relationships with men. Winner of top honors at the 1994 Dublin Theatre Festival for The Mai, Ms. Carr is considered Ireland�s leading contemporary female playwright who has been compared to such writers as Tennessee Williams and Eugene O�Neill.

February 21, 22, 27, 28, March 1 at 8 p.m. Williams Theatre

Studio Showcase presents�
D C al fine
Theatre student Jason Graf, completing his senior project, will direct this original play by student playwright Betsy Breitenbach. The play is about a young woman who ritualistically struggles with her demons.
Friday, Mar. 7 and Sat. Mar. 8 at 8:00 p.m.
Studio Theatre in Kettler Hall
Admission for IPFW students with I.D. is free
$3 All other admission
For information call the Department of Theatre at 481-6551

The Heiress
By Ruth and Augustus Goetz
Based on the novel "Washington Square" by Henry James
Directed by Larry L. Life

Set in fashionable 1850s New York, The Heiress is a classic love story, with a twisting plot, dangerous emotions and subtle, complex characters. At twenty-two, Catherine Sloper is neither clever or beautiful, but to her delight she finds herself courted by the handsome and charming Morris Townsend. Is it her good and gentle heart that he desires, or her inheritance? For her father, Dr. Sloper, keeping his daughter away from her lover is a duty, a challenge and an entertainment.

AUDITIONS: Sunday, November 24, 2002, starting at 12 noon with student monologues and at 1:30 p.m. with readings from the scripts. Auditions for THE MAI, by Marina Carr and THE HEIRESS by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, will be held in Williams Theatre.

April 25, 26, May 1, 2, 3 8 p.m. April 27 and May 4 2:30 p.m. High School Matinee - May 1 10:30 a.m. Williams Theatre

American Classics Summer Theatre

Where's Charley
Book by George Abbott
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Directed by Larry L. Life

Ray Bolger became an enduring star after playing the lead in Where�s Charley, a musical comedy of errors based on the beloved comedy Charley�s Aunt. At the turn of the century, the only way two decent young ladies, like Kitty and Amy, would stay in the company of two young men for the weekend, like Jack and Charley, would be with a chaperone, like Charley�s aunt. But what if Charley�s aunt never arrived and the boys were desperate to keep the young ladies around. When Charlie is mistaken to be his Aunt Donna Lucia while rehearsing for his graduation play in costume, Where�s Charley takes the audience on one musical fast-change after another.

July 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 8 p.m. July 13, 20 at 2:30 p.m. Williams Theatre

A new and exciting addition to our season. The IPFW Department of Theatre will feature a number and variety of performances throughout the season that will afford student and faculty theatre artists the opportunity to realize minimalistic productions of original works and ideas that will be developed through production process. Selection of pieces will be based upon a careful assessment of individual needs and potential and assurances that all involved will have ample opportunity for growth and development. Plans are underway for presentation of 5 to 6 pieces to be presented in the Studio Theatre during the 2002-03 season, ranging in genre from dance to drama. Season Flex-Pass holders will be admitted free of charge to any of the presentations in the Studio Showcase.
Sign language interpreter services will be offered during all Thursday night performances of all productions in Williams Theatre during the IPFW Department of Theatre 2002-03 season

2002-03 Season

Bye, Bye, Birdie
Book by Michael Stewart � Music by Charles Strouse � Lyrics by Lee Adams
Directed and Choreographed by Larry L. Life Musical Direction by Stephen W. R. Sheftz
Bye, Bye Birdie features invited community guest artist Susan Domer in the role of Mae Peterson and faculty artist Craig A. Humphrey in the role of Harry McAfee.
July 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 2001 at 8 p.m. � July 15, 22, 2001 at 2:30 p.m. � Williams Theatre

Corpus Christi
By Terrence McNally � Directed by Jonathan Matthew Gilbert
August 10-18, 2001 at 8 p.m. � Studio Theatre

Corpus Christi is a go .. Read the Docket & the Judge's decision

The Rivals
By Richard Sheridan � Directed by Craig A. Humphrey
September 28, 29 October 4, 5, 6, 2001 at 8 p.m. � Williams Theatre

Atlas's Cigar
By Betsy Breitenbach � Directed by Larry L. Life
November 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2001 at 8 p.m. � Studio Theatre

Harvey
By Mary Chase � Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft
November 30 December 1, 6, 7, 8 at 8 p.m. December 2, 9, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
Special High School Matinees - December 5, 6 at 10:30 a.m. � Williams Theatre

Picasso at the Lapin Agile
By Steve Martin � Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft
February 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 2002 at 8 p.m. � Williams Theatre

Tennessee Williams: Foolish Dreamer
Devised and Directed by Larry L. Life
March 1, 2, 2003 at 8 p.m. � Williams Theatre

The Color of August
By Paloma Pedrero
Directed by Betsy Breitenbach

March 29, 30 April 4, 5, 6, 2002 at 8 p.m.
Studio Theatre
On The Town
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green � Based on an idea by Jerome Robbins
Directed and Choreographed by Larry L. Life � Associate Choreographer Brittney Coughlin
April 26, 27, May 2, 3, 4, 2002 at 8 p.m. April 28 May 5, 2002 at 2:30 p.m. � Williams Theatre

Dreamgirls
(American Classics Summer Theatre Series IX)
Music by Henry Krieger,
Lyrics and Book by Tom Eyen
Directed by Larry L. Life
Musical Direction by Stephen W. R. Scheftz
July 12-14, 18-21, 2002

Dreamgirls
Music by Henry Krieger,
Lyrics and Book by Tom Eyen
Directed by Larry L. Life
Musical Direction by Stephen W. R. Scheftz

Dreamgirls is the greatest high-voltage concept musical about the conventional American dream of "Making It Big In Show Business." This black musical traces the success of a vocal trio loosely based on The Supremes from the early days of 1962 Motown to their ultimate fame and success in Hollywood. Follow "The Dreams" meteoric rise to stardom with the "help" of their agent and experience how their personal and professional demons take them on the musical ride of a lifetime.

July 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 at 8 p.m. July 14, 21 at 2:30 p.m. Williams Theatre

American Classics Summer Theatre (Series VIII)
Bye, Bye Birdie
Book by Michael Stewart, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Lee Adams
Directed and Choreographed by Larry L. Life Musical Direction by Stephen W. R. Sheftz

Bye, Bye, Birdie is one of the most captivating musical shows of our time. Set in the 1950's, It tells the story of a rock and roll singer who is about to be inducted into the army. Conrad Birdie will bid a typical American teen-age girl goodbye with an all-American kiss on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bye, Bye, Birdie is a satire done with the fondest affection. IPFW's production will feature the outstanding high school and middle school talent in the area. All high schools and middle schools are invited to send their top musical performing students to the auditions on Sunday May 20th at 1:30 p.m. in the Williams Theatre. High school teachers are also invited to audition. The Department of Theatre will also offer a Musical Theatre Workshop specifically for high school students and teachers on Saturday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The all-day workshop will feature classes in acting, singing, and dancing for students and directing and choreography for teachers. Tuition for the workshop, including lunch, is $15.00. The workshop is offered to prepare students and teachers for auditions for Bye, Bye, Birdie.

Bye, Bye Birdie features invited community guest artist Susan Domer in the role of Mae Peterson and faculty artist Craig A. Humphrey in the role of Harry McAfee.
July 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 2001 at 8 p.m. July 15, 22, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Bye Bye Birdie featured at IPFW during Three Rivers Festival

The IPFW Department of Theatre presents the American Classics Summer Theatre Series featuring the musical Bye Bye Birdie at the Williams Theatre from July 15 - 22. Set in the 1950's, Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of a rock and roll singer who is about to be inducted into the army.

Conrad Birdie will bid a typical American teen-age girl goodbye with an all-American kiss on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bye Bye Birdie is a satire done with the fondest affection. IPFW's production will feature outstandin g high school talent in the area.20 Bye Bye Birdie features invited community guest artist Susan Domer in the role of Mae Peterson and faculty artist Craig A. Humphrey in the role of Harry McAfee. Unforgettable musical numbers from the show include "The Telephone Hour," 'Put On a Happy Face," "Kids," and "One Last Kiss."

The IPFW production of Bye Bye Birdie, directed and choreographed by Larry L. Life, with musical direction by Stephen W. R. Sheftz, will feature Mark Dunn as Albert Peterson, Leslie Beauchamp as Rose Alvareza, Bridgett Bannec as Kim MacAfee and Daniel Ambrose as Conrad Birdie The cast is comprised of IPFW students, community actors and area high school students as the Sweet Apple, Ohio teenagers. (See cast list)

The musical begins at 8:00 p.m. on July 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 2001 and at 2:30 p.m. on July 15, 22, 2001 in Williams Theatre. Admission prices are as follows:
$12 Adults
$10 Faculty/Staff/Alumni/Arts Advocates
$8 Seniors
$8 All other students with ID
$5 IPFW Students with ID
$10 Groups of 10 or more

For more information, call the department of theatre, at 219-481-6555.

Cast List for Bye Bye Birdie at IPFW
Albert Peterson...Mark C. Dunn
Rose Alvarez...Leslie Beauchamp
Ursula Merkle...Ericka Anderson
Kim MacAfee...Bridget Bannec
Mrs. Doris MacAfee...Gloria McDowell
Mr. Harry MacAfee...Craig A. Humphrey
Mrs. Mae Peterson...Susan Domer
Conrad Birdie...Daniel P. Ambrose
Hugo Peabody...Pat Fruchey
Teen Chorus...Deidre Bentz, Melissa Dowty, Jacob Dahm, Ali Darley, Brock Graham, Laife Anne Janovyak, Zac Lehman, Lindsay MacLeod, Brian James Porter, Jake Stackhouse, Emily Sites, Martin Sorge, Bryan Young
Mayor...Reuben Albaugh
Mayor's Wife...Georgeanna Spelvin
Mrs. Merkle...Brenda Porter
Randolph MacAfee...Mason Hunter
Gloria Rasputin...Jane Rebekah Frazier
Adult Chorus...David Boggs, John Crewdson, Christine M. Feay, Kasey Foster, Jane Rebekah Frazier, Jonathan Matthew Gilbert, Jim Nelson, Micah Thomas


Special Added Event: An Alternative Theatre Production
The arts in the new millennium are controversial and, often, confusing. Old and new forms are combined with new technologies to create what some people think are exciting new directions for the arts, but what others call a trivializing of the traditions of the past. The last 30 years have at the very least spawned heated dialogues over where the arts are headed, including a sensationalized trial in Cincinnati over a group of allegedly pornographic photographs in a museum of art. The IPFW Department of Theatre, as an educational theatre program, feels it has a responsibility to expose both its students and audiences to that which is thought provoking and that which can give a vigorous and new dynamism to the contemporary theatre.

Corpus Christi
By Terrence McNally
Directed by Jonathan Matthew Gilbert

The most controversial and talked about play of the 1998 New York theatrical season. Corpus Christi is a serious, even reverent retelling of the Christ story in a modern idiom. The essential truth at the heart of Corpus Christi cannot be dismissed: If today a gay man arrived bearing the same gifts Christ brought to the world, his journey might end just as terribly. To view this play after Matthew Shepard was crucified on a Wyoming fence merely for being gay is to experience a jolt of recognition. McNally uses the Christ story to tell a contemporary tale of the fight against cruelty, division, hatred, and above all, hypocrisy. His plea is that we look upon all souls as equal in the sight of God.
Limited Run - Two Performances Only!
August 10, 11, 2001 at 8 p.m. Studio Theatre

The Rivals
By Richard Sheridan
Directed by Craig A. Humphrey

The Rivals is among the wittiest and most urbane plays in the English language and is part of the grand tradition of English comedy generally referred to as the "laughing comedies." For many years The Rivals has regaled audiences with its bawdy plot, licentious characters, amoral theme, and sexual innuendo. The play is a commentary on social behavior in which lifestyles of town and country are contrasted, leading the characters to ask themselves which of the two they prefer. The manners of the characters are also contrasted: the older generation and the younger, pretended wits and truly clever individuals, those who are honest in love and those who aren't, users and abusers of social rules, aristocrats and citizens. The IPFW production will take a slightly different turn on the play by setting it in the 1920's.
September 28, 29 October 4, 5, 6, 2001 at 8 p.m.
Williams Theatre

Atlas's Cigar
By Betsy Breitenbach
Directed by Larry L. Life

IPFW Department of Theatre, junior theatre major Betsy Breitenbach won first place honors with this play in the One-Act Playwriting Competition at the 33rd annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival regional competition in Milwaukee in January, 2001. Atlas's Cigar was one of six finalists in the regional competition comprised of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Department of Theatre has been invited back to the regional competition in 2002 to present a fully staged production of Atlas's Cigar. The play was given its first staged production by the department in Studio Theatre in the Summer of 2000. The production will be coupled with another original production and will be presented in preparation for taking it to the 34th American College Theatre Festival. Atlas's Cigar deals with the lack of responsibility and lack of understanding on behalf of educator's that begets school violence.
November 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2001 at 8 p.m.
Studio Theatre

Harvey
By Mary Chase
Directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft

It is hardly necessary to say more than Harvey about this celebrated perennial favorite. Our family holiday production has enchanted audiences for years with the loveable Elwood P. Dowd who starts to introduce his imaginary friend Harvey, a six-and-a-half foot rabbit to guests at a dinner party. Elwoods sister, Veta Louise, has had as much of his eccentric behavior as she can tolerate and decides to have him committed to a sanitarium to spare her daughter, Myrtle Mae, and their family from future embarrassment. Problems quickly arise, however, when Veta herself is mistakenly assumed to be on the fringe of lunacy when she explains to doctors that years of living with Elwood's hallucination have caused her to see Harvey also! Harvey is a sure-to-please, holiday romp for the entire family.
November 30, December 1, 6, 7, 8, 2001 at 8 p.m.
December 2, 9, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
SPECIAL HIGH SCHOOL MATINEES
December 5, 6, 2001 at 10:30 a.m.
Williams Theatre

Picasso at the Lapin Agile
By Steve Martin
Directed by Jane Purse Wiedenhoeft

Did you know that the "Wild and Crazy Guy," Steve Martin was a playwright? Well, he is and this sublimely ridiculous comedy shows Martin up to his usual form. Picasso at the Lapin Agile a long-running Off-Broadway comedy places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian café in 1904, just before the renowned scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with cubism. In Picasso at the Lapin Agile. his first comedy for the stage, the popular actor, comic and screenwriter plays fast and loose with fact, fame and fortune as these two geniuses muse on the century's achievements and prospects as well as other fanciful topics with infectious dizziness.
February 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 2002 at 8 p.m.
Williams Theatre


Special Added Event: Two Performances Only
Tennessee Williams: Foolish Dreamer
Devised and Directed by Larry L. Life

A gratifying and provocative portrait of the extraordinary life and career of one of America's greatest playwrights. Five men and women play Tennessee Williams and show his immense appeal and great complexity through his poetry, quotes, anecdotes and plays. Tennessee Williams: Foolish Dreamer reveals a fascinating personality that could be alternately tender, generous, bitchy, profound, exasperating, paranoid, or wholly endearing, whether he is discussing his early years, his family, his love life, or his critics. This piece was originally created in February 2001 for the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and was presented for one performance only to a great response. The piece has been expanded and will be performed by the original cast including Carole Bugelwicz, Susan Domer, Larry Life, Brian Schilb and Brian Wagner, with original music by Chris Till. Now is the chance for all who know and love Tennessee Williams to see it.
March 1, 2, 2002 at 8 p.m. (This production is offered to FlexPass Members at no cost)
Williams Theatre


The Color of August
By Paloma Pedrero
Directed by Betsy Breitenbach

The Color of August is a moving and heartfelt exploration of two women's relationship, artwork, and their relationship with the art. Tackling questions of inspiration, love, hate, and jealously, Paloma Pedrero's modern Spanish masterpiece uses poetic imagery to tell the story of where these two women have been and where their love-hate relationship is heading.

March 29, 30 April 4, 5, 6, 2002 at 8 p.m.
Studio Theatre


On The Town
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Based on an idea by Jerome Robbins
Directed and Choreographed by Larry L. Life
Associate Choreographer Brittney Coughlin


The New York, New York Musical. It's a Helluva Show! It's 1943 New York, during WW II. Three sailors on a 24-hour shore leave take a carefree tour of Manhattan in search of, what else, women! Plenty of young men were going off to war, worried they would not return, and plenty of young women wanted to give them a great sendoff. On The Town features a classic Bernstein score, and a lighthearted, but endearing and very realistic wartime plot. A very original and risqué musical for its time, let's face it, these three boys are looking for sex before they are shipped-out. The wonderful score includes blues, jazz, and ragtime with a classical structure. Using the natural exuberance of sailors, and the jazzy rhythms and syncopation of Bernstein's music the show features dances that are not only comfortable within the show's dramatic fabric, but grow out of it organically. On The Town created and established the greatest of all American contributions to the theatre: American Theatre Dance.

April 26, 27 May 2, 3, 4, 2002 at 8 p.m.
April 28 May 5, 2002 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre

American Classics Summer Theatre (Series VII)

COMPANY
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
July 7-8, 13-15, 2000 at 8 p.m.
July 9 & 16, 2000 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre
Company is a Three Rivers Festival event. Ticket discount when showing festival button.

SOUTH PACIFIC
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan
October 6-7, 12-14, 2000 at 8 p.m.
October 8 & 15, 2000 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre

MISS JULIE
By August Strindberg
Nov. 10-11, 16-18 at 8 p.m.
Studio Theatre

AH, WILDERNESS!
By Eugene O�Neill
December 1-2, 7-9, 2000 at 8 p.m.
December 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre
Special High School Matinees:
Dec. 6-7, 2000 at 10:30 a.m.

BLOOD WEDDING
By Federico Garcia Lorca
February 9-10, 15-17, 2001 at 8 p.m.
Williams Theatre

ON THE VERGE (OR THE GEOGRAPHY OF YEARNING)
By Eric Overmyer
March 23-24, 29-31, 2001 at 8 p.m.
Studio Theatre

THE TEMPEST
By William Shakespeare
April 20-21, 26-28, 2001 at 8 p.m.
April 22, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
Williams Theatre
Special High School Matinees:
April 25 & 26, 2001 at 10:30 a.m.

IPFW Department of Theatre
1999-2000 Season

Assassins
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Based on an original idea by Charles Gilbert
Directed by John C. Hermes
October 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 1999 at 8 p.m., Sunday Matinee October 10, 1999 at 2:30 p.m.
WILLIAMS THEATRE

Assassins is one of American Musical Theatre's most brilliant and dazzling achievements. Assassins is part history lesson, carny show, and vaudeville all Swirled into one. It is a controversial and surreal dissection of political assassination in America � a schizophrenic journey from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald and beyond. Assassins is provocative entertainment that illuminates as it shocks and educates as it entertains. A work of unimpeachable craftsmanship and integrity, it views America's history of assassination as a perverse tradition, but an American one nonetheless. Instead of viewing the assassins as freaks and misfits outside the American experience, Sondheim and Weidman see them as products of it, victims of it, people who misread the guarantee of the right to pursuit of happiness as the right to be happy.

Spike Heels
By Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Kendra Clauser
November 5, 6, 12, 13, 1999 at 8 p.m.
STUDIO THEATRE, Kettler Hall G32

Spike Heels is a modern-day Pygmalion attempt that goes awry in this contemporary comedy of manners which explores sexual harassment, misplaced romance and the endless possibilities in a four-sided love triangle. The characters are a volatile young woman named Georgie from the wrong side of the tracks, a writer with Professor Higgins tendencies, a less-than-ethical lawyer, and a fiancée in sensible shoes. Georgie's spike heels are her weapon to gaining the upper hand. By slipping into some shoes that give her height and show off her legs, Georgie takes charge and demands that the characters reevaluate assumptions about gender, work and class. "Spike Heels is a modern satire in which the battle of desire waged between the sexes finds redemption in affectionate equality." (from New York Times)

You Can't Take It With You
By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufmann
Directed by Larry L. Life
December 3, 4, 10, 11, 1999 at 8 p.m. Sunday Matinee December 12, 1999 at 2:30 p.m.
WILLIAMS THEATRE

Begin the holiday season with a bang! Bring the entire family to see the most successful and popular comedy ever written for the American Theatre. Let your family join the delightful Sycamore family on the maddest romp ever to hit the stage. The zany cast of characters include Grandpa who doesn't believe in income tax; Boris Kolenkhov, a Russian ballet dancer who is teaching Essie to dance even though he knows she stinks; Penny, who paints and is trying to write a play; Alice, who is in love with Tony Kirby whose parents are outrageous snobs; and Paul and Mr. DePinna, who are making fireworks in the basement if this group doesn't sound crazy enough, throw in an inebriated actress who keeps having hallucinations and a grand duchess who has defected from Russia and you have non-stop laughter. You Can't Take It With You is a warm and wonderful holiday delight that celebrates the joys of nonconformity.

Arcadia
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Craig Humphrey
February 11, 12, 18, 19, 2000 at 8 p.m.
WILLIAMS THEATRE

"The unpredictable and the predetermined unfold nature creates itself on every scale...the ordinary-sized stuff which is our lives, the things people write poetry about clouds, daffodils, waterfalls, and what happens in a cup of coffee when the cream goes in these things are full of mystery, as mysterious to us as the heavens were to the Greeks." (from Arcadia) This brilliant play takes us back and forth between the 19^th and 20^th centuries and explores the nature of truth and time, the difference between the classical and romantic temperament, and the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life.

How I Learned to Drive
By Paula Vogel
Directed by John C. Hermes
March 17, 18, 24, 25, 2000 at 8 p.m.
STUDIO THEATRE, Kettler Hall G32

How I Learned to Drive, the recipient of 1997 Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, New York Drama Critics and OBIE awards for best new play is the story of a young woman's coming-of-age in the 1960s and '70s. In flashback, Li'l Bit recounts growing up in a small Maryland town. Trapped in a comically dysfunctional family, Li'l Bit turns to the only person she feels she can trust � her Uncle Peck. Peck takes the young girl under his wing, listens to her, gives her driving lessons...and sexually abuses her. What follows is a complex and very troubling portrait of how this "relationship" changes over the years, and, ultimately, how it damages both people involved.

Edith Stein
By Arthur Giron
Directed by Larry L. Life
April 21, 22, 28, 29, 2000 at 8 p.m.
WILLIAMS THEATRE

Edith Stein is a powerful and moving story of a remarkable Jewish woman who converted to Catholicism, became a Carmelite nun, achieved remarkable success in the male-dominated world of German philosophy, and was sent to a Nazi death camp when she refused to deny her Jewish heritage. A prayerful woman of deep spirituality and authentic mystical experience, Edith Stein remained an influential, active philosopher all her life. She vigorously opposed Nazism from the outset. A model Catholic, a brilliant intellectual, yet a profoundly humble soul, she affirmed her solidarity with her suffering Jewish people no matter the cost. Edith Stein was arrested by the Nazis at a Carmelite convent at Echt in Holland and sent to her death at Auschwitz. On October 11, 1998, Pope John Paul II canonized Edith Stein making her the first Jewish-born woman saint of the Roman Catholic Church since the Virgin Mary.

SPECIAL HIGH SCHOOL MATINEES

We will feature two high school matinees of Edith Stein on April 26 and 27, 2000 at 10:30 a.m. High schools bringing groups will receive a special group rate of $4.00 per student, and teachers who accompany the group will be admitted free.

Babes in Arms 1937
Rodgers & Hart's musical comedy
July 7-9 and 13-16, 2000

Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Williams Theatre, unless otherwise noted, on the campus at 2101 Coliseum Blvd. E.
Single tickets for nonmusicals are $10 adults, $8 senior citizens and groups of 10 or more, $7 non-IPFW students and $5 IPFW students.
Musicals are $12 adults, $8 students and senior citizens.
Call (260) 481-6555 for more information. IPFW Department of Theatre
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Ft. Wayne, IN 46805-1499
(260) 481-6551

• IPFW Dept. of Fine & Performing Arts
  
• IPFW Music Department
  
• Summer Youth Classes
  
• 1999-2000 Season IPFW Department of Theatre
  1998-99 Season

  How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
  Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on the novel by Shepherd Mead
  Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
  July 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 at 8 p.m., July 19, 26 at 2:30 p.m.

  Auntie Mame
  by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
  directed by Larry Life
  Oct. 2, 3 and 9, 10, 1998

  Go on a wonderful and heart-warming adventure with the sparkling and scatterbrained Auntie Mame. Mame Dennis Burnside has brightened the landscape of American theatre for many years with her whimsical gaiety, her slightly madcap adventures, and her devotion to her young nephew. Through fortunes that rose and fell and a pleasant but brief marriage to a likeable Southerner (who had the bad luck to tumble down from the Matterhorn) Auntie Mame's chief concem was raising her young nephew. Auntie Mame is a woman of spirit, innate kindness, and undefeatable courage. Our production will feature WPTA Channel 21 Alive anchor Melissa Long in the title role.

  Buried Child
  by Sam Shepard
  directed by Susan A. Robinson
  Nov. 6, 7 and 13, 14, 1998
  Studio Theatre, Kettler Hall G32

  Sam Shepard, playwright, film actor, and screenwriter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for Buried Child, a play critics have described as "American Gothic." Buried Child is a comedy that emphasizes the rootlessness of the American family, its emotional chill, and its capacity for violence. The play is set in a shabby Midwestern farmhouse and focuses on a young man's attempt to rediscover his heritage and his identity within a family in the grip of sordid secrets, betrayals, coercion, infidelity, and exploitation. Buried Child is lyrical in its powerful images, comic in its truthfulness, and tragic in its harsh representation of traditional values and the American family.

  Oleanna
  by David Mamet
  directed by Larry L. Life
  Dec. 4, 5 and 11, 12, 1998
  Williams Theatre

  A college student, Carol, drops by her professor's office in an effort to gain his help to do better in class. John, the professor, in the midst of buying a house to celebrate his nomination for tenure, at first seems distant. As the first meeting progresses, the two discuss the nature of understanding and judgment in society, as well as their very own natures and places in our society. It seems as if a bond has been made. When next they meet we find that a report has been filed to the tenure committee. Carol has joined a "group" and has decided that John sexually harassed her during their first meeting. Their second meeting dissects the first; every word, every nuance of the first meeting has been twisted into something else. Or has it? John's unsuccessful attempts to convince Carol to retract her accusation escalate to a more dangerous level. The third meeting, one the court officers warned against, climaxes violently and leaves John and Carol both physically and emotionally devastated.

  As You Like It
  by William Shakespeare
  directed by Susan A. Robinson
  musical direction and original compositions by John Hermes
  Feb. 12, 13 and 19, 20, 1999
  Feb. 17, 18 (High School Matinees)
  Williams Theatre

  As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, and definitely one of his most sublimely serene. It includes dances, weddings, masques, and a wrestling match, yet it is beautifully stylized and philosophically eloquent.
  The story begins at the court where enmity prevails. Brother usurps brother for the dukedom, and Duke Senior must flee to the Forest of Arden, where he lives "like the old Robin Hood" with his merry men. Other endangered court-folk follow his lead, and the forest fills up with mismatched lovers, women masquerading as men, brothers bent on revenge, and the infamous cynic Jacques, who asserts that "all the world's a stage.

  Our heroine, one of the best women's roles Shakespeare ever wrote, is the indomitable Rosiland, in disguise as the young lad Gannymede. She eventually manages to straighten out all the twisting plots of love, revenge, and usurped dukes, but not before she waxes philosophical on life, love, marriage, and the trustworthiness of young men in love.

  As You Like It is a delightful pastoral comedy with something for everyone. In the Forest of Arden, all find respite from the exhausting and corrupting nature of court life, and by the end of the play all are renewed and restored to life.

  Mass Appeal
  by Bill C. Davis
  directed by John Hermes
  March 19, 20 and 26, 27, 1999
  Studio Theatre, Kettler Hall G32

  Father Tim Farley, a lover of the good things in life, is comfortably ensconced as priest of a prosperous Catholic congregation. Almost without realizing it, he has resorted to flattering his parishioners and entertaining them with sermons that skirt any disturbing issues--all in order to protect his Mercedes, his trips abroad, and the generous supply of fine wines which grace his table (and his desk drawer). His well-ordered world is disrupted by the arrival of Mark Dolson, an intense and idealistic young seminarian whom Father Farley reluctantly agrees to take under his wing. There is immediate conflict between the two as the younger man challenges the older priest's secular ways, while Father Farley is appalled by Mark's confession that he had led a life of bisexual promiscuity before entering the priesthood. Their final confrontation is a touching, yet very funny, examination of the nature of friendship, courage, and the infinite variety of love, as the older man is reminded of the firebrand he once was, and the younger comes to realize that forbearance is as vital to the Christian ethic as righteousness.

  The Hot L Baltimore
  by Lanford Wilson
  directed by Craig A. Hurnphrey
  April 16, 17 and 23, 24, 1999
  Williams Theatre
  The scene of this bittersweet comedy is the lobby of a rundown hotel, so seedy that it has lost the "e" from its marquee. As the action unfolds, the residents--ranging from young to old, from the defiant to the resigned--meet and talk and interact with each other during the course of one day. The drama is of passing events in their lives, of everyday encounters, and of the human comedy with conversations often overlapping into a contrapuntal musical flow. In the resulting mosaic each character emerges clearly and perceptively defined, and the sum total of what they are-or wish they were--becomes, a poignant, powerful call to America to recover lost values and to restore itself in its own and the world's eyes.

  
  

  
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