At its 1928 premiere, The New York Times noted that Machinal "in a hundred years should still be vital and vivid," and today it retains that power.
The "Festival of Ten" runs February 23-March 3.
We're enthusiastic about the value of all of these plays to both the department's students and their audience. Department chair Frank Kuhn notes that "the three full-length plays in our season, from three different historical periods, each explore the relationship of individuals to their social environments and own identities; and the 'Festival of Ten' always offers an impressive array of perspectives on the human condition." All performances are in the tower Fine Arts Center on Holley Street. For tickets and more information, call (585) 395-ARTS. |
The second play of our season, running December 1-9 is Sophie Treadwell's Machinal, an expressionist drama, inspired by the true story of Ruth Brown, the first woman executed in New York State. The audience experiences the evolution of the main character from acquiescent secretary and wife to notorious murderer.
Join us for the Department of Theatre's fifth biennial "Festival of Ten," a presentation of ten 10-minute plays chosen from hundreds of entries. The festival has been an audience favorite in the past, offering fresh new work and a variety of perspectives - humorous and dramatic - on the human condition. 
Closing the season will be Moliere's classic comedy, Tartuffe, a hilarious skewering of religious hypocrisy and self-righteousness that remains as topical and funny today as it has for the last three hundred years. Tartuffe plays April 20-28.