LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
AUGUST 1996 5F
Alums coming home for theater season
RENÉE KNOEBER/JOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO
Del Unruh, director of University Theatre at Kansas University, is planning the UT's third Alums Come Home celebration.
- Some familiar faces are returning to the KU stages this year.
BY JAN BILES
JOURNAL-WORLD ARTS EDITOR
Every five or so years, University Theatre invites its alums to return to the Kansas University campus to participate in some sort of production.
This year, the tradition will continue. However, instead of being involved in one production, alums will take part in events throughout the 1996-'97 season.
"It's alums come home year," said Del Unruh, University Theatre director.
Unruh said this is the third time University Theatre has held an Alums Come Home celebration.
"It's been successful for us in the past, and alums have enjoyed the proceedings," he said.
Unruh said alums will be featured throughout the season as actors, playwrights, directors and clinicians.
"The format in the past was a variety show that featured alums. This time, we changed that," he said. "We'll still do a variety show as an open mike night at a location yet to be announced."
Unruh said both Theatre for Young People productions are written by KU
alums. "Hush: An Interview with America," at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in Crafton-Preyer Theatre, is written by James Still, who now lives in Los Angeles. "Alex and The Shrink World," at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 15 in Crafton-Preyer, is written and directed by Ric Averill, who lives in Lawrence and heads the Seem-To-Be Players and the Ric Averill Players.
"Hair (Revised)" will be directed by KU alum Kip Niven, who lives in the Kansas City area and is a professional actor with feature film and TV movie credits. The musical will be staged by University Theatre at 8 p.m.Nov.15-16,2:30 p.m.Nov.17 and 8 p.m. Nov.21-23 in Crafton-Preyer Theatre.
Two productions in this year's Inge Series are written by KU students — "Communion," by graduate student Don Schawang, and "Tales From the Wasteland," by KU Senior Will Averill.
The plays will be presented at 8 p.m. Jan. 30-Feb. 2 and Feb. 4-8 in Inge Theatre.
of the first Great Plains Play Contest. The Kansas-based drama is written by Thomas Fox Averill, a KU alum living in Topeka, and will be directed by KU professor of theater and film Jack Wright, also a KU alum.
The season finale will be "Abide with Me," the winner
"It will have both students and alums in the cast," Unruh said.
"Abide with Me" will be performed at 8 p.m. April 24 26 and May 1-3 in Crafton Preyer Theatre.
On top of the Alums Come Home celebration, Unruh said the University Theatre season can stand on its own merit and includes four original scripts, a virtual reality project and other titles from the classic to the contemporary.
"That's exciting because a large part of University Theatre is about the development of talent," he said. "We train the next generation of
playwrights and performers, and it's exciting to have that many new plays to work on."
Other UT productions planned for the coming year include:
- "The Memorandum," a thought-provoking play by Vaclav Havel, president of the Czech Republic, 8 p.m. Oct. 3-6 and Oct. 8-12, Inge Theatre.
- "Coming Here: A Trilogy," by KU theater and film professor John Gronbeck-Tedesco. The funny and poignant story of Italian immigrants will be performed at 8 p.m. Oct. 18-19, 2:30 p.m. Oct. 20 and 8 p.m. Oct. 24-26 in Crafton-Preyer Theatre.
- "Wings," a virtual reality project by Arthur Kopit, 8 p.m. Dec. 2-6, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Dec. 7-8 and 8 p.m. Dec. 9-10. Inge Theatre.
- "The Merry Winds of Windsor," by William Shakespeare, 8 p.m. March 7-8, 2:30 p.m. March 9 and 8 p.m. March 13-15. Crafton-Preyer Theatre.
- "Between Pancho Villa and A Naked Woman," by Sabrina Berman, 8 p.m. April 4-6 and April 9-12, Inge Theatre.
Tickets for all University Theatre productions are on sale at the Murphy Hall Box Office, 864-3982.
Juilliard violinist opens Chamber Players season
The Lawrence Chamber Players will hold the first concert of its 25th season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall.
Featured soloist will be violinist Brian Lewis, an Ottawa native and Juilliard-trained musician. He will perform Mozart's "Concerto No. 3 in G Major. K.216."
Lewis received bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Juilliard and performs about 100 concerts a year. He has received numerous awards, including the MidAmerica Violin Competition and the Elizabeth B. Koch Fellowship, a career development grant awarded by the Kansas Cultural Trust.
The concert will be repeated Oct. 19 at Baker University in Baldwin.
The Lawrence Chamber Players is a small, semi-professional orchestra. The members are equally drawn from the Lawrence community and Kansas University. The group is committed to providing quality music as well as education and service to the community.
Conductor and pianist is Juan Francisco La Manna, born in Caracas, Venezuela, of Italian parents. His appearances include chamber music recitals, concertos with orchestras and conducting the Redlands Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony.
For more information, contact Dina Evans, Lawrence Chamber Players manager, at 843-2090.
He has been conductor of the Lawrence Chamber Players since the 1994-'95 season. He also conducts the Benedictine College Orchestra in Atchison.
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