Unlike some of Shakespeare’s later comedies, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is a full-fledged farce with a great deal of slapstick humor. Directed by Professor John H. Walker, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is an early piece by Shakespeare based on the ancient Roman comedy, THE MENAECHME by Plautus. It follows the story of two sets of twin boys and their parents who were separated from each other in a shipwreck at sea and rescued by fishermen from different cities.
Written by Nikolai Gogol and directed by Dr. Monica Anderson, this satirical farce tells the story of a corrupt small town run by a greedy mayor and his comrades. The town panics at the news that a government inspector is on his way from the capital. Hilarity ensues when the townsfolk display their greed and stupidity by confusing a low-level official with the real inspector.
The small community of Salem, MA is rocked when a group of young girls accuse many of the town’s citizens of practicing witchcraft. Trials ensue and the accused who will not admit to being witches are hanged. This play is a story of group hysteria and communal culpability, of the injustice that results when power and personal profit combine.
Merry Christmas, George Bailey! is adapted from the popular Frank Capra movie It’s a Wonderful Life. The play will be presented as a live radio show set in the 1940s, with much of the action taking place through voice acting.
The play explores Christian themes as it examines a society based on outward appearance and social status rather than the worth of each individual soul. Ultimately, it reinforces the core of Catholic social teaching, which is to respect the dignity of each human life regardless of appearance.
The Franciscan University Theatre Department mainstage production presented Much Ado About Nothing to audiences in the fall of 2016.
Set in the early 1960s on a Caribbean island that is loosely based on the legends of Princess Margaret’s island getaway of Mustique, the story follows a set of twins who are separated when they wash ashore after a shipwreck.
One of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, Taming of the Shrew differs from his other lighthearted plays because it focuses on both courtship and married life after the wedding, which was particularly relevant to English audiences of the Renaissance period.
The Franciscan University Theatre Department mainstage production presented Love’s Labour’s Lost to audiences in the fall of 2013.
The Franciscan University Theatre Department mainstage production presented Every Man to audiences in the spring of 2013.