APPLETON, WIS. — George Bernard Shaw’s An Unsocial Socialist comes to life when the Lawrence University Theatre Department stages Smash by Jeffrey Hatcher. Performances of this witty, cunning, and intelligent play are at 8:00 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, February 15-17 and at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, February 18 in Cloak Theatre, located in the Music-Drama Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students. Tickets are available at the Lawrence University Box Office or by phone at 920-832-6749. If available, tickets will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before each show.
Inspired by Shaw’s novel, Smash, centers on the life of a very wealthy young man, Sidney Trefusis, who feels called to save England by bringing her to Socialism in 1910. He finds himself at an all-girls school, and his attempts to instill Socialism in various ways keeps blowing up in his face or “smashing.” While Socialism was very politically charged at the time, this production is more about how we try to cause change and form allegiances now, said director Kathy Privatt, associate professor of Theatre Arts at Lawrence University.
Leading the cast is Asher Perlman ’08 as Sidney Trefusis. Other cast members and their roles include Nora Taylor ’09 as Henrietta Jansenius, Kate Kirkland ’07 as Agatha Wylie, Octavia Driscoll ’08 as Miss Wilson, Brianne Mueller ’07 as Gertrude Lindsay, Cara Wantland ’09 as Jane Carpenter, Nikko Benson ’10 as Mr. Jansenius, Peter Welch ’09 as Sir Charles Brandon, Michael Beaderstadt ’07 as Chichester Erskine, and Tim Dunnell ’09 as Lumpkin. Two Lawrence alumni, Emily Rohm-Gilmore and Aaron Sherkow, are back as costume designer and lighting designer, respectively.
