USF student theater group presents summer production
The University of St. Francis student theater group, the Sometimes Thespians, will present A.R. Gurney’s "What I Did Last Summer"—its first summer production in more than 10 years—on July 16-18 and 23-24.
The play will be at 7:30 p.m. on July 16, 17, 23 and 24 and at 3 p.m. on July 18. All shows are in the university’s Moser Performing Arts Center studio theater. The University of St. Francis is at 500 Wilcox St. in Joliet.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. For information or ticket reservations, call (815) 740-3404.
"What I Did Last Summer" is set during the final stages of World War II in a well-to-do vacation colony on the shores of Lake Erie. The play centers around Charlie, "an incipiently rebellious 14 year old who is summering with his mother and sister while his father is fighting in the Pacific. While Charlie intended to loaf around all summer, hanging with his two friends Ted and Bonny, he decides to take a job with an iconoclastic, bohemian art teacher, Anna Trumbull. Anna is a former member of the ‘upper crust’ who has lost both her fortune and her regard for the ideals of her upbringing. She attempts to stretch Charlie’s mind by teaching him painting and sculpture, as well as exposing him to radical ideas. The result is a family crisis, and more specifically, a showdown between Anna and Charlie’s conservative mother: a clash of philosophies raises as many questions as it answers and, in the end, stimulates the self-awareness which will shape the man Charlie is destined to become."
Charlie is played by Todd Moore of Lansing. USF alumna Brenda Vitalo of Willow Springs is the mother and Lacey Petrella of Minooka plays the sister. The friends are played by USF alumnus Jamin Gahm of Joliet as Ted and USF junior Stacy Hogan of Plainfield is Bonny. Teacher Anna Trumbull is played by Tiela Halpin of Lansing.
USF alumnus Michael O. Rice II of Chicago is directing "What I Did Last Summer." Rice has directed the Sometimes Thespians in five previous shows: "The Boys Next Door," "Hush," and "Buddies" to name a few. "This is a great opportunity for the Sometimes Thespians to reach out to the community," Rice said, "having a summer show keeps the Thespians group connected to the community throughout the year, and not just the academic year. I am excited to have this opportunity to direct again at St. Francis."
The University of St. Francis serves 4,300 students nationwide. The university offers more than 60 areas of undergraduate study and 10 graduate programs.