Fairfield University announces an exciting schedule of theatrical performances at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts this fall, from renowned professional artists, to University faculty, staff, and students.
The lineup includes the return of the Academy Players—a group made of up University faculty and staff—with Tracy Letts’ The Minutes, as well as Holiday, which is the first performance of the Fairfield University Theatre Program’s season. The fall performances also include captivating stories of love, truth, caregiving, and memory, as well as screenings of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Misanthrope from London’s National Theatre.
Theatre
Academy Players of Fairfield University Present | Tracy Letts’s The Minutes
Wednesday, September 23 – Saturday, September 26 | 7:30 p.m. | Wien Experimental Theatre, Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Fairfield’s faculty and staff theatre troupe, the Academy Players, presents The Minutes, a darkly comic and sharply satirical play that follows a small-town council meeting that gradually exposes buried secrets, civic corruption, and the dangerous myths communities uphold to preserve power and control. Each performance will be followed by a talk-back discussion led by Fairfield University faculty.
Why Not Theatre | What You Won’t Do For Love
Monday, September 28 & Wednesday, September 30 | 7 p.m. | Wien Experimental Theatre, Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
“What’s love got to do with it?” A lot, according to David Suzuki. After a lifetime devoted to activism, internationally renowned environmentalists David Suzuki and Tara Cullis take the stage in an intimate and inspiring theatre experience. In a behind-the-scenes look at a life shaped by deep love, commitment, and the courage to act, they reflect on their extraordinary 50-year partnership in life and activism. Honest, warm, and thought-provoking, David and Tara share captivating stories, powerful insights, and heartfelt moments of humor as they celebrate their love for each other, their love of the planet, and love’s capacity to inspire action. They will be joined onstage by actors (and real-life couple) Miriam Fernandes and Sturla Alvsvaag.
Sunny Jain | Love Force
Thursday, November 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
The career of Sunny Jain is a celebration of cultural diaspora: a deep-rooted tradition that ripples outward, changing—and being changed by—the cultures that it touches. He is a composer, drummer, dhol player, and thought leader. In his first theatrical production, Jain brings his signature talent for creating immediate community, blurring the lines between performers and audience. Love Force draws on his autobiography and family history to dive into the concept of satyāgraha (which means “insistence or holding firmly to truth”). Coined by Mahatma Gandhi during his nonviolent protest against British colonialism in India, satyāgraha is both a theory and a method of enveloping the oppressor with compassion.
Called the “Hendrix of dhol” by Manchester Salon (UK), Jain is most known for founding the pioneering band Red Baraat, a frenzied fusion of bhangra, hip-hop, jazz, rock, and sheer, unbridled energy. Recently, Sunny Jain played dhol with Ed Sheeran in his Netflix show One Shot, and he co-wrote and recorded the song “Ai Miei Amici” with Italian superstar Jovanotti. You might have also seen him acting as “Mr. Tambourine Man” in the Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet.
Fairfield University Theatre Program | Holiday | By Philip Barry, Directed by Rory Pelsue
Wednesday, November 4 – Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, November 8 at 2 p.m. | Wien Experimental Theatre, Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
This classic romantic comedy became a beloved film starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Free-spirited Johnny Case finds himself engaged to one girl but preferring another. The wealthy Seton sisters are his intended: socially proper Julia and Linda, non-conforming and fresh. Expecting his future son-in-law to toe the family line, patriarch Edward Seton realizes that Johnny cannot. Johnny and Linda fall in love, and the two kindred souls take their “life-as-a-holiday” in the company of each other. There’s lots of love and lots of money…what can possibly go wrong? Find out in Philip Barry’s bittersweet comedy of money and manners.
Ain Gordon and Josh Quillen | Relics and Their Humans
Friday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. | Wien Experimental Theatre, Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Created and performed by Ain Gordon and Josh Quillen, Relics and Their Humans is a theatrical and musical journey to the Quillen family home in Dover, Ohio. It covers a three-year odyssey of caregiving following a 2006 diagnosis of ALS for Josh’s father, Jerry. Three “relics” undergird this work. First, in 2019, Gordon and Quillen visited Quillen’s mom, Sue, recording an interview from her perspective as caretaker during her husband’s illness. Second, Sue offered up Jerry’s journal where he chronicled the arc of his disease. Third, Jerry made a 17-track playlist (you must see the work to learn why) morphing into 17 sonic episodes. Together, these elements are framed by Gordon’s recall of his first visit with Sue over dinner in Quillen’s childhood home. The excavated materials are reimagined via song, Reuben sandwiches, interviews, and a high-stakes dinner with a surprise figure at the table.
Circus
Cirque Alfonse | La Noce d’Alfonse
Sunday, September 27 | 4 p.m. | Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
La Noce d’Alfonse–Alfonse’s Wedding–is a freak show of the heart, where caustic humor, circus performance, and live music collide in a whirlwind of festive poetry. A bold procession unfolds a series of acrobatic, love-infused tableaux, honoring the union of one lucky couple from the audience. Rooted in a 1970s aesthetic and fueled by constant crowd interaction, this circus-cabaret show joyfully overflows with outrageous twists and turns. It bears all the hallmarks of Cirque Alfonse: irreverence, daring, and live music. With its Caribbean flair and unapologetically Québécois folk roots, the music sets the tone for a grand vintage wedding celebration that is as tender as it is delightfully kitschy.
National Theatre Live Screenings
Les Liaisons Dangereuses | By Christopher Hampton, Based on the Novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Directed by Marianne Elliott
Tuesday, October 13 | 7 p.m. | Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin. Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponize desire. But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path. Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.
The Misanthrope | by Martin Crimp, After Molière, Directed by Indhu Rubasingham
Monday, November 9 | 7 p.m. | Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Award-winner Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) plays the title role in this razor-sharp reimagining of Molière’s classic dark comedy. Telling the truth isn’t always that simple. Alice, a brilliant novelist, despises the carefully constructed lies of modern society. But the more she challenges those around her, the fiercer the backlash becomes. Soon, she must confront the price of speaking her truth in a world that would rather silence her. Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham directs Martin Crimp’s (Cyrano de Bergerac) highly anticipated play.
Find details about dozens of additional upcoming live performances and lectures at fairfield.edu/quickcenter.
