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The Arts

Dark Comedy in Ballantyne, Feb. 19-21

By February 10, 2010November 16th, 2018No Comments

The House of Blue Leaves weaves fact and fiction into award-winning American theatre classic

Comedy turns dark, absurd, observant and revealing in the latest theatre offering at Kirkwood Community College. John Guare’s award-winning The House of Blue Leaves will be presented in three performances, February 19-21 in Ballantyne Auditorium. Friday and Saturday show times are 7:30 p.m., with a 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee.

Rick D. Anderson directs the Kirkwood student performers, with set and lighting design by Doug Anderson and costume design by Annee Noah.

The play takes place in 1965 and mixes reality with surrealistic fantasy. The backdrop of the action is the historic visit of Pope Paul VI to New York City, with wildly imagined New Yorkers reacting to the celebrities and news accounts of the papal arrival.

Director Anderson notes that House of Blue Leaves was one of playwright Guare’s first works, allowing the audience to “see a young writer on the verge of success” in the American theatre.

“This play has been a long-time favorite of mine. The first time I read The House of Blue Leaves in the late 70’s the play just hooked me. I have a soft spot in my heart for dark comedies, and this play being very presentational and representational, really allows our students to experience drama, comedy, and farce. The play demands a blending of styles as it relates to the actors. There is fragility to the people in this play, a sense of both beauty and an ugly reality,” Anderson observed.

In 1986 New York Times reviewer Frank Rich noted that Guare “has found the terror as well as the absurdity in working-class Queens nobodies who aspire to be somebodies. At its best, his play often seems like The Day of the Locust as rewritten by Tennessee Williams.”

In 1971 the original production won John Guare the annual New York Critics Award and that year’s Obie Award, both for Best Play. A revival production won two Tony Awards in 1986 and was nominated for that year’s best play as well.

Tickets for Kirkwood Community College’s performance of The House of Blue Leaves are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students with current ID. Kirkwood students, staff and faculty are admitted free of charge.

Tickets are available at the door, or in advance by calling the Kirkwood Theatre box office, (319) 398-7662 and leaving a message for date and number of tickets. Students will also offer tickets on campus at various times until the show’s opening night.