NEW PALTZ — Comedy, drama, and musical theatre offerings make SUNY New Paltz a destination for Hudson Valley residents and visitors alike. Join us for a memorable summer evening. This year marks our 30th anniversary season.
BILOXI BLUES
by Neil Simon
Directed by Joseph Paparone
McKenna Theatre
| 8pm performances: | Thursday July 1 Friday, July 2 Saturday July 3 Sunday, July 4 – (7pm curtain) Saturday July 10 Sunday July 11 |
| 2pm matinees: | Saturday, July 3 Sunday, July 4 Sunday July 11 |
| Tickets: | $16 adult, $14 senior/student |
Winner of the 1985 Tony Award for Best Play, BILOXI BLUES is part two of Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical trilogy about his growth from adolescence into adulthood. In the steamy heat of Biloxi, Mississippi, budding writer Eugene encounters the absurdities of army life, including endless drills, dense bunkmates, and chipped beef on toast. But he also discovers that his compulsive wisecracking grates on his tough drill sergeant, who happens to be a touch psychotic. Despite the strongly comedic bent, the play also holds a more serious message as Eugene comes to learn about the wide world around him.
LUCKY STIFF
Book & lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Directed by Donna Scheer / Musical Direction by Stephen Kitsakos
Parker Theatre
| 8pm performances: | Thursday, July 8 Friday, July 9 Sunday, July 11 Thursday, July 15 Friday, July 16 Saturday, July 17 Sunday, July 18 Saturday, July 24 |
| 2pm matinees: | Saturday, July 10 Saturday, July 17 Sunday, July 18 Sunday, July 25 |
| Tickets: | $18 adult, $16 senior/student |
In order to inherit a fortune from an uncle he’s never met, unassuming British shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon is forced to take the corpse of his recently murdered uncle on a weeklong vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed, Harry Witherspoon will be six million dollars richer. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. The proceedings are sheer lunacy as Harry comes up against his uncle’s insanely jealous and legally blind mistress, her much put-upon optometrist brother, and Annabel Glick, a zealous representative from the Universal Dog Home determined to see Harry’s inheritance “go to the dogs.”
DANCING AT LUGHNASA
By Brian Friel
Directed by John Wade
Parker Theatre
| 8pm performances: | Thursday, July 22
Friday, July 23 |
| 2pm matinees: | Saturday, July 24 Saturday, July 31 Sunday, August 1 |
| Tickets: $16 | adult, $14 senior/student |
In the turbulent times of 1936, the five unmarried Mundy sisters live on a farm outside Ballybeg, a small town in Donegal. The imperious teacher Kate, the irreverent big-hearted keeper of the hearth Maggie, the serene familial rudder Agnes, the sweetly eccentric and simple-minded Rose, and the lonely romantic Christina, who has creased the family reputation with an illegitimate son; all are heavenly bodies revolving around the 8-year old love child, Michael. DANCING AT LUGHNASA is told from Michael’s memories, summoning back to the end of that summer, on the eve of celebration to the harvest deity Lugh, god of music and light. But the celebration of the play…the music and the light of it…really lives within the sisters, a gift they share with each other and the ones they love.
Parker Theatre Box Office
(845) 257-3880
www.newpaltz.edu/artsnews
Monday – Friday, 11:30 – 4:30
Saturday, 1-5pm
Sunday, 11am – 2pm
Plus one hour prior to performance.
SEASON SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES
Buy a subscription package to all three plays in the 2004 Summer Repertory Theatre season and receive a 20% discount off the price of single tickets. In addition, subscribers receive priority seating and exchange privileges.
McKenna and Parker Theatres are wheelchair accessible and equipped with assisted listening systems. Please notify the Box Office staff when placing your order if you have any special needs.
