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The Learned Ladies

learnedladiesThe Augsburg College Theatre Department opens its season on Nov. 5 with Molière’s comedy, The Learned Ladies. In this play, a family is thrown into disarray when the mother becomes fixated on an intellectual charlatan. The play evolves into a hilarious portrayal of the intellectual perversions sometimes seen in academia (and elsewhere) when the quest for knowledge is replaced by pseudo-intellectuality, pretention, inflated self-importance, and power mongering.

Sarah Witte, a junior theatre major, plays Armande, one of the learned ladies. The ladies, Witte says, are very strong characters—”…so strong that they rub it in other people’s faces.” Certainly intellectual superiority, on the part of the ladies as well as other characters, is a theme in the play. Continue reading “The Learned Ladies”

"Eurydice" explores bond between father and daughter

eurydiceEurydice is interesting,” says Martha Johnson, director of Augsburg’s first mainstage play of the year, but she doesn’t mean that in the way most Minnesotans use the word. “It’s quirky and funny…interesting in a good way.”

Written by Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus told from the point of view of Eurydice, his wife. “It’s almost like a dream,” Johnson said. “The play uses images you would only see in a dream but is also very human. There’s a little bit of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in it.” Johnson believes patrons will appreciate the contemporary humor, Ruhl’s ability to play with language, and the unusual set designed by Joe Stanley. Continue reading “"Eurydice" explores bond between father and daughter”

Final MainStage production of the year

springplayThe Augsburg College Theatre Arts Department will present it’s final MainStage production of the 2007-08 season, “Top Girls,” at 7 p.m. on April 11, 12, 17, 18, and 19, and 2 p.m. on April 13 and 20 in Tjornhom-Nelson Theater. Darcey Engen ’88 is directing the production.

“Top Girls,” by British playwright Caryl Churchill in 1982, explores

feminist themes and encourages a deeper look at socialist ideals. Marlene, “Top Girls” main character, is a businesswoman who has recently achieved a promotion within the employment agency where she works. Her sister, Joyce, is a working-class cleaning woman who

adopted Marlene’s child at birth and has raised her as her own. While the sisters are joined in caring for their daughter’s welfare, the two are quite different in their political and class views. Marlene is presented as an individualist who does whatever it takes to move ahead. She values power and success for herself at the expense of others. Her sister Joyce represents a more socialist-collective perspective that sees achievements of women happening only when all women and other oppressed groups are included. Continue reading “Final MainStage production of the year”