Wistful Irish drama “Dancing at Lughnasa” at UW-P

Parkside Theatre is "Dancing" Nov.30-Dec. 8!

Parkside Theatre, the award-winning theatre company at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, presents eight performances of the Irish drama "Dancing at Lughnasa" Nov. 30-Dec. 8. Written by Brian Friel, this production takes place in the Black Box Theatre of the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7, and 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 30, at 10 a.m.; Sunday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m.; and Friday, Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. UW-Parkside is located at 900 Wood Rd., Kenosha, Wis.   

Set in the fictitious town of Ballybeg, director Jamie Cheatham calls "Dancing at Lughnasa" (pronounced LOU-nah-sah) a "memory play," a bittersweet tale of past remembrances as seen through the eyes of narrator Michael Evans who, at the time of the play, is seven years old.   

"Many themes are woven, like a Celtic knot, within the beauty of Friel's writing:  the conflict between youth and age, between order and chaos, between Catholic and pagan ceremony," Cheatham said. "And there's the conflict between life in rustic Ballybeg versus the onset of modernity and the encroaching outside world."

Loosely based on the lives of Friel's mother and aunts, "Dancing at Lughnasa" is the story of the five Mundy sisters?Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rose, and Christina. All are unmarried and living in a cottage outside of Ballybeg. The play takes place during the last days of summer when love briefly, fleetingly, seems possible for three of the sisters and when the family welcomes home a frail, elder brother returning from missionary work in Africa.

The cast includes Kenjamin Lafayette as narrator Michael Evans, Shanna Theiste as Kate Mundy, Brittany Boeche as Maggie, Laura Chartrand as Agnes, Katlin Kobernick as Rose, Rachel Sandlin as Christina, Michael Dalberg as Father Jack, and Ethan Hall as Gerry Evans.

Tickets for this production are now on sale at $17 for adults, $13 for seniors and UW-Parkside faculty and staff, and $8 for students. Order online by visiting www.uwparksidetickets.com or by calling 262-595-2564.

For more information on the Theatre Arts Department, visit www.uwp.edu keyword Theatre Arts or call 262-595-2457.

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ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 11/19/2012

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