USI Theatre Continues Season with "Brighton Beach Memoirs"
January 27, 2020
University of Southern Indiana Theatre will continue its 2019-20 season with the comedy Brighton Beach Memoirs, written by Neil Simon and directed by Elliot Wasserman. The production runs from February 13-16 in the USI Performance Center located in UC east on USI's campus.
Brighton Beach Memoirs is USI Theatre's annual Repertory Project, which operates under a contract with the Actors' Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers. The production will feature two professional actors in the cast-Laurie Dawn and Buzz Roddy-and union stage manager Margaret Kayes.
Brighton Beach Memoirs is the first of a semi-autobiographical trilogy by Neil Simon. Simon portrays himself as Eugene Jerome and opens the series as a young teen in 1937. Though he dreams of girls and baseball fame, Eugene's reality instead deals with the comical jumble of his large family crammed into a Brooklyn walk-up. Simon's bittersweet memoir vividly captures the spirit of a determined but struggling Jewish household as World War II begins to loom.
Wasserman will be joined by a design team including USI faculty member Paul Weimer as scenic designer; USI staff member Joshua Stallings as sound designer; USI staff member Shan Jensen as costume designer; USI staff member Andy Hammond as technical designer; and USI students Rafael Gonzalez III as lighting designer and Carlysle Garland and Evan MacLaughlin as assistant stage managers.
The cast of Brighton Beach Memoirs includes USI students Zoie Hunter, Jovanni Olavarria, Kierstin Prewitt, Isabelle Rogers, and Elijah Young.
Tickets are $2 for USI students, $10 for USI employees, $4 for non-USI students (student ID required), $10 seniors (60+), and $12 for adults. Tickets are FREE to USI students with ID one hour before the show begins based on availability. Shows start at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. for the Sunday matinee. To purchase tickets or for more information visit USI.edu/liberal-arts/usi-theatre or call the box office at 812-465-1635. Follow us on Facebook at USITheatre, Twitter @TheatreUSI, and Instagram @USI_theatre.
The second spring show will be Eclipsed, our second student production of the season. It will be directed by USI student Jesmelia Williams and run March 26-28, 2020, in the Mallette Studio Theatre. The final production of the season will be Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Eric Altheide from April 16-19, 2020.