2018-19 theatre season at Augustana

The Frog and the Princess

Sept. 15 and 16

Augustana College will present "The Frog and the Princess" by Brandon Roberts as this year's children's show. 

Adapted from the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, this version tells the story from the point of view of the frog (Prince Gerwyn).  After being turned into a frog by the princess' evil stepmother, he must find a way to win the princess as a frog!

Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens

Sept. 28, 29 and 30

This celebration of lives lost to AIDS is told in free verse monologues with a blues, jazz and rock score. It is designed to include the community in a theatrical response to the AIDS crisis.

The songs and monologues were inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology." Each of the monologues is written from the perspective of characters who've died from AIDS. The songs represent the feelings of friends and family members dealing with the loss.

Lyrics by Bill Russell, music by Janet Hood, and directed by Shelley Cooper, Augustana assistant professor of theatre.

The Crucible

Oct. 12-21

American playwright Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials. A mob mentality arises in Salem when suspicions and misinterpretations arise after a group of teenage girls is accused. The girls then begin accusing others and townsfolk turn against each other.

Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists. Miller himself was questioned by the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956 and convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.

"The Crucible" won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play. It is regarded as a central work in the canon of American drama. Directed by Dr. Jennifer Popple, Augustana assistant professor of theatre.

The Children’s Hour

Dec. 6-9

This 1934 American play by Lillian Hellman is set in an all-girls boarding school run by two women. An angry student runs away from the school and to avoid being sent back she tells her grandmother that the two headmistresses are having a lesbian affair.

The play is based on a true incident that took place in 1810 at a school in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Three Musketeers

Jan. 25-Feb. 3

This adaptation by Ken Ludwig is based on the adventure classic by French author Alexandre Dumas. Set in 1625, it recounts the adventures of young d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard. He befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age and gets involved in affairs of the state and court.

Dumas frequently works into the plot various injustices, abuses, and absurdities of the old regime, giving the novel an additional political aspect at a time when the debate in France between republicans and monarchists was still fierce. Directed by Jeff Coussens, Augustana professor of theatre.

The Why

Feb. 8-9

Students in the THEA 350 play production class will present the tragicomedy "The Why" about a teenager school shooter. 

This weekly student seminar group works under faculty supervision to produce an annual studio theatre production. Students collaborate on every aspect of the production process, culminating in the public performance. Students in the class choose a title, design, direct, and produce a show. "The Why" will be directed by junior Jonathan Quigley.

Playscripts description: "The central story concerns Robert, an American teenager guilty of murdering three of his classmates in what has come to be referred to as a school shooting. Spliced among the dramatic exchanges between Robert and his assigned social worker, a parade of fantastical stereotypes storms in and out, creating a dichotomy between moments of hilarity and sorrow. Confronted by disturbingly accurate exaggerations of the tabloid-like modern media, the audience is made to laugh, and then question that laughter."

Boy

April 11-14

Inspired by a true story, Anna Ziegler’s "Boy" explores love and a confusion of sexual identity. The play is inspired by the true story of David Peter Reimer, whose genitalia were mutilated during a botched medical circumcision. A specialist in gender identity encouraged his parents to raise David as a girl, and the repercussions lasted for decadces. Directed by senior Jaryd Whitmore.

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying

April 26- May 5

J. Pierrepont Finch, a young window cleaner in New York City, reads the book "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" as he works. The "Book Voice" tells him that he will succeed if he follows the book's advice, so he enters the World Wide Wicket Company searching for a job. This tune-filled comic gem won the Tony Award for Best Musical and a Pulitzer Prize,

Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, music by Frank Loesser. Directed by Shelley Cooper, Augustana assistant professor of theatre.

Quad Cities Playwrights Festival

May 11

This annual showcase of 10-minute plays features new works by area playwrights high school age and up.