‘The House of Blue Leaves’ coming to IVCC Feb. 25 - 28
By Kristin Carpenter
"The House of Blue Leaves" by John Guare will be performed by a student cast Feb. 25 – Feb. 28 in the Cultural Centre.
The story focuses on a middle-aged zookeeper, Artie Shaughnessy played by Steven Miller, who has lingering hopes of becoming a hit songwriter.
Artie feels trapped by his lack of talent and his family consisting of his mentally ill wife, Bananas, played by Judy McQuilkin, and their son, played by John Pfundstein, who has gone AWOL with a plan to assassinate the Pope.
Director Dr. David Kuester said he chose this dark comedy, set in the late 1960’s, because of its cultural time frame and because "it challenges the actors."
Kuester said the play "mirrors the deconstruction of many of our social values that were challenged at that time: religion, family, the American dream."
Other members of the cast are Missy Reutner as Bunny Flingus, Courtney Caresio as Corrinna Striller, Jeff Twardowski as Billy Einhorn, Donna Pourchot as Head Nun, Julie Bassetti as Nun, Kerri Robinson as Little Nun, Jon Flood as MP Police Man, and Kendric Carr as the Man in White.
Jennifer Rodrick is the assistant director, Matthew Wade McNally is in charge of lighting, and Richard Crum is technical support.
The play won the Obie Award for Best American Play and the Critics’ Award.
Performances will be at noon on Feb. 25 and 26, at 8 p.m. on Feb. 26 and 27 and at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 28. Tickets are free for IVCC students with their ID, $5 for the general public, and $3 for students from other schools.
1/28/99 the Apache