Released: October 3, 2011
Lincoln, Neb. - The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film University Theatre season opens with "Bright Ideas" by Eric Coble, October 6, 7 and 12-15 at 7:30 p.m. and October 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, first floor, Temple Building, 12th and R Streets.
Tickets
- Individual tickets for performances are $16, $14 faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $10 students with ID.
- Season Passes are $50, $40 faculty/staff and senior citizens and are redeemable for four admissions.
- Tickets and passes are available at carsonschool.unl.edu; from the Lied Center Ticket Office; one hour prior to the performance in the Temple Theatre's Lobby; or by telephone at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.
- Reservations for performances are strongly recommended.
A young upwardly mobile couple goes to extremes to guarantee their three-year-old son's placement in the Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy in this comedy about contemporary child-rearing neuroses. According to director, Associate Professor Virginia Smith, "Besides being a dark comedy that says some pretty outrageous things about what some people will do for their kids these days, 'Bright Ideas' is also a spoof of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth.' If you've never read 'Macbeth,' no worries, you won't miss a thing. If you have, however, it might be fun to track the references."
"Bright Ideas" was originally produced by the Cleveland Playhouse. Its New York premiere was at the MCC Theater in November 2003.
UNL cast members are undergraduate theatre majors, featuring Nick Wolf who plays Joshua Bradley, the father of the three-year old named Mac, and Mac's mother Genevra Bradley who is played by Catherine Dvorak. Genevra's co-worker and a rival for the coveted spot in the Bright Ideas Academy, Denise, is played by Sarah Carlson. Other cast members are Maggie Austin, Jenny Holm, Reagan Lopez, Lindsey Roetzel, Nicholas Rouseel, and Devon M. Schovanec.
The production is designed by Joshua "Raj" Rajaee (scenic), Julie Douglass (costumes), both graduate students, Aja Jackson (lighting) an undergraduate, and adjunct faculty member Jeff O'Brien (sound). The production is stage managed by Fred Drenkow.
University Theatre is sponsored by the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and funded, in part, by the Johnny Carson Film and Broadcast Fund.
The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film is in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.