Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts Theater Season 2011-2012

Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts Theater Season 2011-2012


Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts' 2011-2012 Theatre Season will have it all when it opens next month, from serial killers to political plotters, from social satire to sunny Midwestern Church ladies, along with sold-out London stage performances broadcast live in HD, Theatre Fairfield productions, and Live Radio Dramas.

"The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts' Kelley Theatre is a charming, intimate setting for experiencing theater either live or broadcast in High Definition," says Quick Center Director Gary Wood. "There simply is not a bad seat in the house, and for 2011-12, we're proud to host an extremely impressive roster of actors and companies. Throughout the season, we also will be focusing on very innovative programming inside the ‘black box,' the Quick Center's Wien Experimental Theatre.

Image: John Malkovich As one of its centerpieces, the 2011-2012 Quick Center for the Arts' Theatre Season features a one-night-only performance on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, at 8 p.m. by stage and screen superstar, the Emmy winning actor John Malkovich in The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer , a drama for one actor, two opera singers, and an orchestra. Based on the actual story of an Austrian serial killer, the play is at times darkly comic as well as bleak and brutal. Expect the unexpected in this unnerving play directed by Michael Sturminger with minimal staging, in which Malkovich uses his incredible talents to take audiences inside an extremely twisted mind. "This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime chances to see a very formidable star, someone who has distinguished himself on both the stage and screen and has taken on some quite unique roles," says Wood. Tickets are $95 and $85.

Officially opening the Quick Center's 2011-2012 Theatre Season on Thursday, September 15, 2011, at 2 p.m. (encore at 7 p.m.) is the hilarious hit comedy-farce One Man, Two Guvnors , broadcast live in HD from London's National Theatre. Quick Center audiences can get a ticket to a show that is currently sold out in London, and enjoy0 the critically acclaimed production live from the National Theatre. The rave reviews for this comedy written by English playwright Richard Bean about a tough-guy thug trying to keep his two employers apart led to sold-out National Theatre performances. The broadcast is the first in the popular National Theatre Live in HD series. The full National Theatre Live in HD schedule is below. Tickets are $25 regular, $20 seniors, and $15 students/children.

Inside the Quick Center's Wien Experimental Theatre from Thursday, October 6, 2011 through Saturday, October 8, 2011, at 8 p.m., Fairfield University's Department of Modern Languages and Literature presents an original production in translation of Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga's Perpetual Peace . Three dogs compete for the "collar", a coveted job in state security. The play, translated and produced by Dr. Jerelyn Johnson, Fairfield University Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, and directed by Alistair Highet, is a deeply nuanced exploration of arguments for and against the state's use of torture. "Every time I see this play performed in rehearsals, my ideas and convictions are challenged in new ways," says Dr. Johnson. "The play is deeply poignant and important, especially in light of the current use of torture in the war on global terrorism." Tickets, on sale starting September 9, are $20.

Fairfield University's own talented Theatre Fairfield ensemble will take to the Wien Experimental Theatre stage from Wednesday, October 26, 2011, through Saturday, October 29, 2011, at 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30, 2011, at 2 p.m., to present the musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress by Mary Rodgers, a hilarious re-telling of the Princess and the Pea fairytale. " Mattress is truly a musical for the whole family, and we'd love to see three or even four generations come together to enjoy the show," says Dr. Marti LoMonaco, Fairfield University Professor of Theatre. "Perhaps grandparents will remember seeing Carol Burnett make her big Broadway debut as Princess Winifred in 1959! Theatre Fairfield is also pleased to welcome back one of our distinguished graduates, Ryan McKinney '97, as director and choreographer. Ryan, an assistant professor of theatre at Kingsborough College in Brooklyn, is now a professional actor and director."

For those who like their drama the old-fashioned way, via radio, Live Radio Dramas are back at the Quick Center, with a new collection of old Golden-Age radio dramas, complete with commercial interruption. The first of these, War of the Worlds , will be "broadcast" Friday, November 4, 2011, at 8 p.m. and again Saturday, November 5, 2011, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Audiences will hear the classic H.G. Wells tale of a Martian invasion - as told so famously by Orson Welles in 1938 - but with a new twist: The Martians will be landing in Connecticut and visiting some well-known local landmarks. Single tickets are $25. Radio Drama series, 3 for $60.

Image: The Importance of Being Earnest On Sunday, November 20, 2011, at 3 p.m., the Aquila Theatre Company presents Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Deemed "a classically trained, modernly hip troupe" by The New York Times , the company performs the classic tale of two young men who have taken to bending the truth to add a dash of excitement to their lives. Part satire and part comedy of manners with a dash of intellectual farce, below the surface of light comedy is a serious jab at the self-righteous moralism and hypocrisy so evident in Victorian England. Tickets are $40, $35, and $30.

December's nod to the holiday season is a lighthearted comedy, Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas, on Friday, December 16, 2011, at 8 p.m. A sweet and funny show for the whole family, it celebrates the Midwestern Moms of 1959 who toil away amid gossip and crises to get the kids ready for the Sunday School Christmas pageant. Tickets are $35 and $30 (discounts for children and seniors).

Tickets and subscriptions are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396. (1-877-278-7386). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.fairfield.edu/quick .

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7386, or visit www.fairfield.edu/quick .

The complete 2011-2012 Theatre Season at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts follows:

Image: One man, Two Guvnors Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, at 2 p.m. (live) and 7 p.m. (encore)
NT Live in HD: One Man, Two Guvnors

Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, at 2 p.m. (live)
Friday, Oct. 7. 2011, at 7 p.m. (encore)
NT Live in HD: The Kitchen

Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, through Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, at 8 p.m.
Perpetual Peace

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011, through Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, and Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011, at 2 p.m.
Theatre Fairfield: Once Upon a Mattress

Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Radio Drama: War of the Worlds

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, at 8 p.m.
John Malkovich in The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer

Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, at 3 p.m.
Aquila Theatre Company
Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at 2 p.m. (live)
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at 7 p.m. (encore)
NT Live in HD: Collaborators

Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, at 8 p.m.
Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Radio Drama: Vintage Radio Oddities

Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, at 8 p.m.
One Man Star Wars Trilogy

Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 7 p.m. (encore)
Saturday, March 10, 2012, at 2 p.m. (encore)
NT Live in HD: The Comedy of Errors

Thursday, March 1, 2012, to Saturday, March 3, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 3, 2012, and Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 2 p.m.
Theatre Fairfield: Theatre in the Raw
(PepsiCo Theatre, Fairfield University)

Friday, March 2, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Reduced Shakespeare Company
The Complete World of Sports (abridged)

Friday, March 9, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 10, 2012, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Radio Drama: Communists! The Red Scare on the Air

Sunday, March 25, 2012, at 6 p.m.
The Acting Company in association with The Guthrie Theater
Julius Caesar
Schooltime showing on Monday, March 26, 2012, at 10 a.m.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.
The Red Box , a staged reading

Wednesday, April 25, 2012, to Saturday, April 28, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 28, 2012, and Sunday, April 29, 2012, at 2 p.m.
Theatre Fairfield: The Glass Menagerie

Posted On: 08-18-2011 11:08 AM

Volume: 44 Number: 21