MARCH 19, 2009 ISSUE
ASU Theatre Department Presents The Heidi Chronicles at Valborg April 1 to 5
The Heidi Chronicles, Wendy Wasserstein’s 1989 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play about the women’s movement from the radical 1960s to the materialistic 1980s, will be presented Wednesday to Sunday, April 1 to 5, in Valborg Theatre at ASU.
The production is a collaborative effort between ASU’s Department of Theatre and Dance and the Blowing Rock Stage Company.
Performances begin at 7:00 p.m. from April 1 to 4, and at 2:00 p.m. on April 5. Tickets are $10 for non-students and $6 for students and can be purchased by calling 828-262-3063 or clicking to www.theatre.appstate.edu.
Directed by Blowing Rock Stage Company Artistic Director and ASU adjunct professor Ken Kay, the play follows Heidi Holland from high school in the 1960s to her career as a successful art historian 20 years later. Tracking the course of the women’s movement, Heidi starts as an ardent cheerleader for feminism only to become disillusioned as the movement disintegrates. The play recounts a touching and humorous search for self, set against the backdrop of intense social and cultural change in America.
“It’s a great play. It’s a Pulitzer Prize winner and a Tony Winner. This is a real signature piece,” said Kay, adding that the classic rock soundtrack would please audiences young and old.
Both funny and touching, the play is a moving examination of the progress of the baby boomer generation, from the social and political activist ’60s to the success-oriented ’80s—a time during which the status of American women underwent profound, and often unsettling, change.
“The Heidi Chronicles is not just about one woman’s journey to ‘find herself’—it is the journey of an entire generation,” Kay said. “I think the Boomers are going to love this play, and the students in the audience may finally begin to understand why their parents behave the way they do. There’s a lot in the play that I can relate to from personal experience. For me, it’s kind of fun to look back on that phase of my life.
“This is my second opportunity to direct for the Department of Theatre and Dance and I am having a great time,” he said of the collaboration. “The department’s professional staff—as always—has been extremely supportive and I have been blessed with an extraordinarily talented cast of actors. Oh, and the play is really good, too.”
The ASU student cast features Shanda Jacobs as Heidi, Meghan Lewicki as Susan, Brian Seagroves as Scoop, Hampton Boggs as Chris Boxer, Brett Stafford as Ray/Mark, Alex Genther as Hippie/Steve, Meghan Modafferi as Becky/Denise, Callie Rawlins as Debbie/Betsy, Anneliese Moffitt as April/ Molly/Jill, Jordan Westra as Peter, Carry Vaughan as Fran/Clara and Cady Childs as Lisa.
Want To Go?
Date: Wednesday to Sunday, April 1 to 5
Time: Wednesday to Saturday, 7:00 p.m./Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Valborg Theatre at ASU
Cost: $6 for ASU Students and Faculty/$10 for non-students
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