“Columbinus” canceled, “Book Of Days” to be staged

Parkside Theatre, the award-winning acting company at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, has cancelled its spring semester production of "Columbinus" and replaced it with "Book of Days." Lanford Wilson's contemporary drama is presented for seven performances March 8-17 in the Black Box Theatre of the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities.       

"Columbinus" is a powerful docudrama re-telling the events leading up to and on the day of April 20, 1999, when the Columbine High School massacre occurred in Littleton, Colo. Two instances of gun violence in Milwaukee got Theatre Arts faculty and students talking and the national tragedy in Connecticut led to a final decision.       

"After the Sikh Temple shooting in Oak Creek and again after the spa shootings in Brookfield, the department met to discuss the appropriateness and timing of these incidents in relation to our community," said Theatre Arts Chair Lisa Kornetsky. "In light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, we finally deemed it too soon to revisit such another terrible school shooting on our stage."

Parkside Theatre replaces "Columbinus" by drawing once again from the repertoire of one of America's most esteemed playwrights Lanford Wilson with "Book of Days." Murder roars through tiny Dublin, Missouri, sending Ruth Hoch on a journey to find truth and honesty amid small town jealousies, religion, greed, and lies. A whirlwind of a play, "Book of Days" propels you through its events like a page-turning mystery. The winner of the Best Play Award from the American Theater Critics Association, "Book of Days" is presented March 8 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., March 9, 14, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m., and March 17 at 2 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre.