University Theatre showcased Garson Kanin’s “Born Yesterday” May 28, the first of three performances that are a part of the critically acclaimed summer series, TheatreFest.
TheatreFest 2015 will continue to run throughout the month of June, including performances of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Side by Side by Sondheim” and Frederick Knott’s “Wait Until Dark.”
TheatreFest has been a highlighted event for University Theatre for the past 20 years and was one of the first summer theater productions to exist in Raleigh, according to John McIlwee, the theater’s director.
“It has been a sell out since it started,” McIlwee said. “Its reputation has stayed very intact, and it has attached more audience members to the regular season. It’s always been rather fun because we hold this event in the summertime,” McIlwee said. “All three directors are participating and these shows are truly entertainment oriented.”
The three shows will run in rotation. Evening shows for the 1946 comedy, “Born Yesterday” will begin at 7:30 p.m. on June 6, 10 and 12. A matinee performance will begin at 2 p.m. on June 14.
There are two stages housed in Thompson Hall: Titmus Theatre and Kennedy-McIlwee Theatre.
The Titmus Theatre will present the Tony Award-winning musical, “Side by Side by Sondheim” on June 4, 5, 13 and 17-20 at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinee performances on Jun 7 and 21.
To wrap up TheatreFest, the Kennedy-McIlwee Theatre will present the suspense thriller, “Wait Until Dark” on June 11-13, 19-20 and 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. and on June 14, 21 and 28 at 2 p.m.
Auditions for this summer’s shows took place in February and were open to the general public.
Holding open auditions not only provides students with the opportunity to work alongside more experienced actors, but it also allows the theater to feature more age-relative characters, according to McIlwee.
“The majority of our cast members are from the outside or are returning alumni,” McIlwee said. “This way we can produce plays without being concerned that we cast everyone, and we can feature characters with a wider age range,”
Rose Dawson of Raleigh said that she is a strong follower of University Theatre and that she particularly enjoys TheatreFest.
“I always look forward to TheatreFest,” Dawson said. “I was able to go to Saturday night’s performance of ‘Born Yesterday,’ and it did not disappoint.”
As far as what University Theatre has planned for the rest of the summer, McIlwee said that a lot of planning is underway.
“We are even already working on TheatreFest for next year,” said Mia Self, University Theatre’s assistant director. “It’s all very exciting.”
Additional information pertaining to TheatreFest shows, times and tickets are available through University Theatre’s website.
“I definitely do not think that anyone should miss out on TheatreFest,” Dawson said. “University Theatre does such a great job, and I am excited to watch each production because I know that each play will be as entertaining as the last.”
