of art & design
University Theatre presents TheatreFest 2011
Southern Comfort
May 26-June 26, 2011
Tickets on sale now! Call Ticket Central
at 919.515.1100
for season tickets at a bargain savings!
Individual tickets $5-$15,
season tickets $33, or pick two $26.
Season tickets only by mail, fax or phone
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WMKS: Where Music Kills Sorrow
Titmus Theatre and Kennedy-McIlwee Theatre
Thompson Hall, NC State University
The Dixie Swim Club, by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten.
Directed by John McIlwee
Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college
swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships.
Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage
on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s
lives. “The Dixie Swim Club” focuses on four of those weekends and spans
a period of thirty-three years. Sheree, the spunky team captain, desperately
tries to maintain her organized and ‘perfect’ life, and continues to be
the group’s leader. Dinah, the wise-cracking overachiever, is a career
dynamo. But her victories in the courtroom are in stark contrast to the
frustrations of her personal life. Lexie, pampered and outspoken, is determined
to hold on to her looks and youth as long as possible. She enjoys being
married – over and over and over again. The self-deprecating and
acerbic Vernadette, acutely aware of the dark cloud that hovers over her
life, has decided to just give in and embrace the chaos. And sweet, eager-to-please
Jeri Neal experiences a late entry into motherhood that takes them all
by surprise. As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly
rely on one another, 
through advice and raucous repartee, to get through
the challenges (men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life
flings at them. And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives in
the second act, these friends, proving the enduring power of ‘teamwork’,
rally ‘round their own with the strength and love that takes this comedy
in a poignant and surprising direction. “The Dixie Swim Club” is the story
of these five unforgettable women - a hilarious and touching comedy about
friendships that last forever…
Performances May 26-29, June 1, 4, 5, 9, 12
NOTE: ON THE POSTCARD MAILER,
THE SUNDAY MAY 29 SHOW HAS THE INCORRECT TIME. THE PERFORMANCE TIME IS
2 PM. (see calendar at right below)
Southern Comforts by Kathleen Clark
Directed by Rachel Klem
Some people need continuous change in order to feel vital and alive. Others
are terrified of unsettling the peace that they have established. Two-time
O'Neill Playwright's Conference participant Kathleen Clark uses her words
to detail this tour-de-force journey of a widow and widower who meet later
in life and find a way into each other's hearts. Southern Comforts is
a beautiful exploration of the intimate workings of all relationships In
a sprawling New Jersey Victorian, a taciturn Yankee widower and a vivacious
grandmother from Tennessee find what they least expected - a second chance
at love. Their funny, awkward, and enchanting romance is filled with sweet
surprise and unpredictable tribulation. Told with warmth and perceptive
humor, this off-Broadway success is an affecting, late-in-life journey
of compromise and rejuvenation, of personal risk and the rewards of change.
Performances: June 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19
WMKS, Where Music Kills Sorrow, by Frank Higgins
Directed by Allison Bergman
It’s a 1935 barn-style radio show in Southwest Virginia coal country, where
old time music, gospel and blues collide. This lively story has oatmeal cookies,
the comedy of a romantic triangle, the drama of politics and family dynamics
and surprise appearances that face off good and evil. What happens between
the toe-tapping music will change forever the lives of the musicians and
listeners.
Performances: June 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
This project is funded in part by the City of Raleigh
based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission.