Theatre UCF’s 2019-20 season celebrates the history and influence of female playwrights. The season features two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays by women and a play by a 17th century spy turned literary icon. From political to personal, these plays explore a wide array of themes that are a testament to the unique points of view of these writers.
The season kicks off with an encore run of Emily Dendinger’s #GodHatesYou, produced as part of Pegasus PlayLab’s 2019 festival. Dendinger is an emerging playwright and has worked on developing this piece at both Orlando Shakes and at UCF. The play follows Laurel, a leader at her radical church who takes to Twitter to spread the word. Her tweets lead to some unexpected encounters that have her question her faith, mission and relationship with God.
Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winner for Drama, follows a group of factory workers facing layoffs, picket lines and a tense political climate that test their life-long friendships. Nottage, the only woman to have twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is known for work that addresses issues that affect marginalized people.
Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Water by the Spoonful is written by Quiara Alegría Hudes, the acclaimed book writer of In the Heights. The play is a compassionate and uplifting look at the fight for forgiveness, redemption and what it means to be family. In Water by the Spoonful Hudes takes on the difficult topics of trauma, addiction and the difficult road to recovery.
Aphra Behn, often considered the first professional woman playwright, is known for breaking down barriers for women writers on her path to becoming a literary icon. Her play The Rover, first performed in 1677, takes a comedic look at the double standards of social freedom between men and women. When a group of banished Englishmen set loose on a Carnival celebration, their wild exploits are juxtaposed by the careful game women must play to maintain their reputation.
The plays of this season are complimented by two musical comedy favorites. The first musical of the season is the Tony Award-winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. This outrageously funny musical comedy follows the low-born Monty who discovers he is a distant heir to a wealthy family. He sets out to speed up the line of succession by using a great deal of charm and a dash of murder. But murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s love-struck mind.
The spring musical takes place in the not-so-distant future in a place called Urinetown. A drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets and citizens are charged to use public amenities. In this sidesplitting satire of greed, love, revolution and musicals, a hero decides that he’s had enough and plans to lead the movement to make it free to pee.
At the 6th annual UCF Celebrates the Arts, Theatre UCF will present an innovative dance concert, a musical theatre showcase featuring Broadway favorites, and more events to be announced. The festival takes place April 10-19 at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets for the Theatre UCF 2019-20 season are now available. The schedule for UCF Celebrates the Arts will be announced later in the year.
Theatre UCF 2019-20 Season
#GodHatesYou
By Emily Dendinger
Directed by Cynthia White
August 29-September 1
Main Stage Theatre
Having attended her first picket at five years old, Laurel is proud of the good work she has done in the name of the Lord. While being groomed to be the next leader of her radical church (a fictional church similar to Westboro Baptist), Laurel takes to Twitter to spread the Word. When her tweets are responded to by an agnostic college student, a rabbi and a few Twitter trolls, Laurel struggles to determine the true meaning of her faith and define her relationship with God.
On Thursday, August 29, we will be joined by 90.7 WMFE’s very own Three Wise Guys for a post-show talkback about the play, religion and social media.
Sweat
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Cynthia White
September 26-October 6
Black Box Theatre
Layoffs and picket lines pit co-workers against each other as they fight to make ends meet.
Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, and 3-time Tony Award-nominee, Sweat is filled with warm humor and tremendous heart. After having spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets and laughs, a group of co-workers are faced with hard choices when trouble arises with their factory jobs. Fear of unemployment erodes their trust and the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Book and lyrics by Robert, L. Freedman
Music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Directed by Mark Brotherton
October 17-27
Main Stage Theatre
A distant heir to a family fortune sets out to speed up the line of succession by using a great deal of charm… and a dash of murder.
Winner of the 2014 Tony Award for best musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is a murderous romp filled with unforgettable music and non-stop laughs. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind….
Water by the Spoonful
By Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by David Reed
November 14-24
Black Box Theatre
A compassionate and uplifting look at the fight for forgiveness, redemption and what it means to be family.
Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, his mother is in a chat room with recovering addicts keeping each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize, Water by the Spoonful is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.
The Rover
By Aphra Behn
Directed by Christopher Niess
January 23-February 2
Main Stage Theatre
Travel to Italy where love, lust and sword fights bring this restoration comedy about a band of banished Englishmen to life.
Love, lust and confusion set in when a band of banished English Cavaliers, including Colonel Belvile and Captain Willmore, arrive in Naples during Carnival. One is in search of love and the other a good time. Considered the first professional female playwright, Aphra Behn brings a witty and chaotic look at the idea of love and lust filled with mistaken identity, lies, sword fights and extravagant disguises in this 17th century classic.
Urinetown
Music by Mark Hollmann
Lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis
Book by Kotis
Directed by Michael Wainstein
March 26-April 5
Main Stage Theatre
A sidesplitting sendup of greed, love, revolution (and musicals!), in a time when water is worth its weight in gold.
Urinetown is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself! In this Tony Award-winning musical, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!
Ticket Information
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday matinee performances at 2 p.m.
$20 standard, $10 UCF ID
Black Box, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
www.theatre.ucf.edu
[email protected]
UCF Celebrates the Arts
April 10-19
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
The 6th Annual UCF Celebrates the Arts runs April 10-19 at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The festival will include an innovative dance concert directed by Judi F. Siegfried, a theatre cabaret, jazz and classical concerts, visual arts, digital media and more. The UCF Orchestra will perform a multimedia concert featuring an original piece by UCF professor, Stella Sung, shedding light on the issue of conservation and the environment. The National Young Composers Challenge Composium will be held during the festival. Additional events to be announced.