It’s a brand new year for the school of performing arts at Plymouth State, and the Silver Center for the Arts has put together another great lineup of shows and performances for this year. The Silver Center’s Hannaway Theater stage and the Studio Theater will be the venues of over 80 performances this year, including the theater production of last year’s Hollywood musical blockbuster and acclaimed Broadway show based off the Broadway show Les Miserables, and the raunchy Sesame Street satire show Avenue Q.
Just in October alone, there will be several performances. Including those by comedian Ted Alexandro (October 5th at 8:30), and several featured musical acts by PSU students and faculty. The Theater Department will also be putting on two larger productions. The first week in October marks the show dates for PSU’s production of The Glass Menagerie, a memory play in which a man has to leave behind his mother and sister to move on with his own life. When asked about the production, Paul Mroczka, head of the Theater Department and director of the show said, “I’m not really nervous about it. It reads like a simple play, but it’s actually complex psychology. The characters are just doing their best in the situations they are given.” Glass Menagerie will have its debut performance on Thursday October 3rd at 8:00pm.
For the last week in October, Les Miserables will come to life on the Hannaway Theater stage. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Les Miserables is a musical thatfollows the trials of Jean Valjean, a convict who broke his parole and is now on the run from the persistent Inspector Javert.
Sharon Paquette, a professor in the Theater Department and the director of the production, is looking forward to seeing the show comes to life on stage. “The biggest challenge is learning how to deal with the curveballs that come with such a huge show,” Says Paquette. She continues, “But every night I go to rehearsal I am so honored and so proud, because every single actor is leaving it out there on the stage.” With such an elaborate set, and large cast (42 voices for the production in all), Les Miserables is sure to be a fantastic performance for all who go to see it. Les Miserables’ opening night will be on Thursday October 24th at 8:00pm.