Directed by Madalyn Cottrell
Cast:
Joanne - LillyBea Ireland
Kathy - Rayn Miller
Mary - Jade Griffy
This comedy-drama by Jack Heifner had one of the longest Off-Broadway runs, opening on January 15th, 1976 and closing on May 27th, 1979. Vanities delves into the inter-personal lives of three girls from Texas, and follows them through their time as sorority sisters in college and ends with the dissolution of their friendship in 1974. The play is ultimately a story a friendship, but chronicles the women and their journeys to escape their innocence and grasp the realities of womanhood.
CLICK HERE for photos from the show!
MORE SHOWS COMING SOON!
DRACULA
By: Kate Hamill
Directed by: Eric Altheide
October 12-15, 2023
This ain't your father's "Dracula"...but it might be your mother's.
Dracula is this year’s USI Theatre annual Repertory Project production, which operates under a contract with the Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers. The production will feature Jesse Luttrell, a professional actor, as Dracula and Margaret Kayes, a professional stage manager.
Kate Hamill's inventive “feminist revenge fantasy” reimagines Dracula in a way that is both unsettling and uproarious, unlike any previous adaptation. It delves into the concept of predators, offering a clever, disconcerting and darkly comedic twist on the story. Hamill's unique approach and contemporary humor completely transform the traditional narrative of Victorian vampires, effectively challenging toxic masculinity.
CLICK HERE to view photos from the production.
RUTH - A One-Act Opera
CLICK HERE for more information about the show.
CLICK HERE for photos from the production
EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR
By: Lauren Gunderson
Directed by: Joshua Robinson
November 16-19, 2023
For those times when divorce just doesn't send the right message. Sometimes revenge is sweet...and furry.
Exit introduces us to Nan who has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional - and actual - cheerleader) and a stripper named Sweetheart, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from their painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, dark revenge comedy.
CLICK HERE for photos from the production.
Ride the Cyclone
Written by: Jacob Richmond
Music and Lyrics by: Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond
Directed by Joshua Robinson
February 15-18, 2024
USI Performance Center
University of Southern Indiana Theatre continues its 2023-24 season with Ride the Cyclone. The book, music and lyrics are by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, and the production is directed by Joshua Robinson, Professor of Musical Theatre in USI’s Philip H. Hagemann Performing Arts Department. Performances will run from Thursday, February 15 through Sunday, February 18 in the USI Performance Center.
In a dilapidated warehouse at an abandoned amusement park, an aging mechanical fortune-teller called The Amazing Karnak comes to life and brings with him a ghostly choir of five deceased high-schoolers, all members of the Saint Cassian Chamber Choir, who were tragically killed on the park’s Cyclone roller coaster. Now, Karnak has the power to return one of these youths to life, but they must all decide among themselves who is the worthiest of a second chance to “ride the cyclone” that is life.
Robinson will be joined by a design team including Henry Maurer as Musical Director, Jaddyn Olivas as Choreographer, Paul Weimer, Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre, as Scenic Designer; Shan Jensen, Professor of Theatre, as Costume Designer; Andy Hammond, Theatre Technical Coordinator, as Technical Director; Joshua Stallings, Facilities Coordinator, as Sound Designer; Brandon Bagwell, Assistant Professor of Theatre, as Lighting Designer; as well as students, Grey Miller as Stage Manager, Jade Griffy as Associate Costume Designer, and Rayn Miller as Assistant Director/Dance Captain.
The cast of Ride the Cyclone features Michael Woywood as Karnak; Abby Scheller as Ocean O’Connell Rosenburg; Leo Rasche as Noel Gruber; Cooper Craig as Mischa Bachinski; Ethan Hoover as Ricky Potts; Morgan Stauter as Jane Doe; and Blair McKown as Constance; Jaden Crouch as Virgil; Via Ryan as Talia; and Rayn Miller as the Female Swing cast member.
CLICK HERE for photos from the show!
The Wolves
Written by: Sarah DeLappe
Directed by: Eric Altheide
April 18-21, 2024
USI Performance Center
From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, The Wolves follows a girls indoor soccer team as they navigate big life questions and wage tiny battles with all the vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. This production is a portrait of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.
Student cast members include Morgan Ray, LillyBea Ireland, Via Ryan, Brynne Stephens, Madalyn Cottrell, Ashlyn Thornburgh, Jillian Palomino, Jade Griffy, Jaden Crouch and Rayn Miller. Alice Shen, Professor of English, also joins the cast as one of the player’s parents.
Altheide is joined by Blair McKown, Student Assistant Director; Gavin Carter, Student Lighting Designer; Joshua Stallings, Sound Designer; Mel Hanebutt, Student Assistant Sound Designer; Paul Weimer, Scenic Designer; Shan Jensen, Costume Designer; Andy Hammond, Technical Director; and Adam Funkhouser, Box Office Operations Manager. The show will also feature Brecken Maddox, Student Stage Manager; Leo Rasche, Student Assistant Stage Manager; and Morgan Stauter, Student Assistant Stage Manager.
CLICK HERE for photos from the production.
The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Elliot Wasserman
October 20-23, 2022
The Importance of Being Earnest is the most renowned of Oscar Wilde’s comedies. It’s the story of two bachelors, John ‘Jack’ Worthing and Algernon ‘Algy’ Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. They attempt to win the hearts of two women who, conveniently, claim to only love men called Ernest. The pair struggle to keep up with their own stories and become tangled in a tale of deception, disguise and misadventure. The elaborate plot ridicules Victorian sensibilities with some of the best loved, and indeed bizarre, characters to be found on the modern stage.
CLICK HERE to view photos from the production.
These Shining Lives
By Melanie Marnich
Directed by USI student Amelia Schmitz
November 17-20, 2022
Based on the true story of the “Radium Girls”, These Shining Lives chronicles the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day, exploring their true story and its continued resonance. Catherine and her friends are dying, it’s true; but theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits—or endanger the lives of those who come after them.
CLICK HERE to view photos from the production.
Fun Home
Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Directed by Eric Altheide
February 23-26, 2023
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
CLICK HERE to view photos from the production.
USI Theatre's Devised Show
By USI Theatre Department
Directed by Joe Paulik Mallette Studio - Lower Level of the Liberal Arts Center
April 14-16, 2023
This inaugural performance by the USI Theatre department will showcase original works by USI Theatre students, giving them a unique chance to showcase their skills and talents.
CLICK HERE to view photos from the production.
Fall 2021
The Mad Ones
By Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk
Based on an Idea by Zach Altman and Bree Lowdermilk
Directed by Eric Altheide
October 14-17, 2021
A Christmas Carol
By John Mortimer
Adapted from the story by Charles Dickens
Directed by Elliot Wasserman
November 18-21, 2021
Spring 2022
Stop Kiss
By Diana Son
Directed by Eric Altheide
February 17-20, 2022
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Elliot Wasserman
April 21-24, 2022
Fall 2020
Songs For A New World
Directed by Eric Altheide
Video available October 15, 2020 through September 30, 2021
It's A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play
By Joe Landry
Directed by Elliot Wasserman
Video available from December 16-23, 2020
Spring 2021
The Laramie Project
by Moisés Kaufman
and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Eric Altheide
Video available from April 15-22, 2021
An Oedipus
Written and directed by Elliot Wasserman
Video available December 1, 2021