Eureka College Announces 2018-19 Theatre Season

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College Theatre Department and Nitsch Theatre Arts are both proud to announce the productions for the 2018-2019 academic year.

First up will be the comedy This Random World by Stephen Dietz Sep. 26-29 at 7:30 p.m. and Sep. 30 at 2:00 p.m. in Pritchard Theatre. Eureka College professor Holly Rocke will direct.

Mining the comedy of missed connections, This Random World asks the serious question of how often we travel parallel paths through the world without noticing. From an ailing woman who plans one final trip, to her daughter planning one great escape and her son falling prey to a prank gone wrong, this funny, intimate, and heartbreaking play explores the lives that may be happening just out of reach of our own.  Recommended audience age 13 and up.             

The next performance will be the fifth annual performance of The 24 Hour Plays: Eureka College on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Pritchard Theatre.  Students and volunteers will direct.

The 24 Hour Plays is part of a worldwide project to bring together extraordinary artists to create time-limited theatre.  Actors, directors, and writers will converge 24 hours before opening to conceive and create new plays.  First and last rehearsal will be during the 24 hours of fun that culminate in a world-premiere performance of new theatre.

The world premiere of the play Imprimatur by Newt Holt will be staged Nov. 7-10 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 11 at 2:00 p.m.in Pritchard Theatre. The director will also be Newt Holt (’19) of Groveland, Ill..  He previously wrote and directed Solomon for Eureka College Theatre.

Imprimatur is a cat-and-mouse game between the forces of Pendleton and Bergeron, both of whom wrestle with the ramifications of truth, and the price that must be paid to attain or destroy it. Knuckles are bloodied, bullets are fired, books are burned, and people are consumed by lions. What more could you want from a play?  Rated PG-13 for some adult themes.                                                                             

Capping the fall semester will be Nitsch Theatre Arts’ production of the musical Annie Dec. 9-15 at 6:30 p.m. and Dec. 8 & 16 at 2 p.m. in Pritchard Theatre. The book is by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin. Kelleen Nitsch will direct. 

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the Orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations… and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt! She finds a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy. Rated G for all audiences.

The spring semester will start with the sixth annual Illinois High School Ten-Minute Play Festival January 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m.  Eureka College students will direct.

High school students from the state of Illinois have been studying and writing for theatre and we have selected a few works for production.  These budding playwrights had the courage to write a play and send it out and we have the honor of producing America’s next generation of playwrights for two nights of world premiere performances.

This year’s Spring Musical will be Pippin on Feb. 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.  Eureka College associate professor Marty Lynch will direct.

Heir to the Frankish throne, the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh and the intrigues of political power (after disposing of his father, King Charlemagne the Great). In the end, though, Pippin finds that happiness lies not in extraordinary endeavors, but rather in the un-extraordinary moments that happen every day.  Rated PG-13 for theme.

Nitsch Theatre Arts will produce its Broadway Bound series Musical (to be announced) March 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m.  Kelleen Nitsch and Taylor Hubbartt will direct.

The final performance of the spring semester will be a play to be determined April 10-13 at 7:30 p.m. and April 14 at 2 p.m.  Eureka College alumna Kendall Katz of Lincoln, Ill. will direct.  She has previously directed Meeting and Talking With… at Eureka College Theatre.

StageKids will present a Spring Musical for the entire family May 2-11 at 6:30 p.m. with matinees on May 5 and 11 at 2 p.m.

Improv shows, student productions, and special event are always free to the public and will be announced on social media.  Eureka College Theatre has a Facebook page, Twitter (@Eureka_Theatre), and Instagram account (ec.theatre) where up-to-date information is always shared.

Tickets for Eureka College Theatre productions are Pay-what-you-decide with all proceeds going to the Theatre Scholarship fund. For reservations call the box office at (309) 467-6363 or email tickets@eureka.edu.

Tickets for Nitsch Theatre Arts productions are $11.  For reservations call (309) 431-1580 or email info@nitschtheatrearts.org.