Nebraska Repertory Theatre begins season with 'The Legend of Georgia McBride'
calendar icon24 Sep 2019
Lincoln, Neb.--The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Nebraska’s Actors’ Equity Association professional regional theatre, opens its 2019-2020 season with "The Legend of Georgia McBride" by Matthew Lopez.
Preview performances are at 7:30pm Wednesday and Thursday, October 2 and 3. Opening night is Friday, October 4. Additional performances are Tuesday, October 8 through Saturday October 12 at 7:30pm with 2:00pm matinee performances Saturday, October 12 and Sundays, October 6 and 13. Performances are in the Lied Center’s Johnny Carson Theater, 11th & Q streets (west entrance-Lied Center for Performing Arts).
Individual tickets are $39 regular and $19.50 for students/OLLI. Season tickets, including tickets to all five productions and a special invitation to the Our Town Workshop, are the best value at $150 regular and $75 for students and members of OLLI.
Individual tickets as well as season packages are available by contacting the Lied Center Ticket Office at 402.472.4747 or 800.432.3231 or at the ticket office window at 301 North 12th Street Lincoln NE between the hours of 11am and 5:30pm Monday through Friday. Tickets are available online 24 hours at http://nebraskarep.org/
“A hilarious comedy with a huge heart.”
He’s young, he’s broke, his landlord’s knocking at the door, and he’s just found out his wife is going to have a baby! But this talented and charming Elvis impersonator will not be daunted. Our hero’s transformation from “The King” to a queen takes us on a rollickingly fun journey into the hilarious and delightful world of the Drag Show. Filled with witty banter, snazzy dance moves, and lobster headpieces, this warm and engaging love story challenges our notions of identity and family with remarkable depth and insight.
Director Steve Scott explains, “As we watch Casey, the straight central character in Matthew Lopez’s delightful (and unexpectedly profound) play The Legend of Georgia McBride, evolve from down-on-his-luck impersonator to fully realized artist, we can begin to understand the bracing allure of drag, both onstage and off, whatever the sexual orientation of the performer--the liberation that can only come from celebrating who we truly are, not just what we think society wants us to be. If ‘drag isn’t for sissies’ as Rexy proclaims, neither is life itself. Both take courage, maturity--and a healthy, sometimes outrageous torpedoing of whatever rules or fears stand in our way. Ultimately, I think, that is the message of Lopez’s fierce and gentle play: a call to all of us to have the guts to discover and embrace ourselves, and to glory in that discovery.”
The production is directed by Steve Scott, an Artistic Associate at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and the Goodman’s producer until his retirement in 2017. His Goodman directing credits include THE SANTALAND DIARIES; AH, WILDERNESS; VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE; Horton Foote’s BLIND DATE; the world premiere of Tom Mula’s JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL; and six productions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. He has directed productions at most of Chicago’s professional theaters.
Scott is assisted by Choreographer Susan Levine Ourada and Voice, Text and Dialect Coach Ann Marie Pollard, both faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Casey is played by Colin Sphar with Brandon Galatz as Eddie and Ty Perry as Miss Tracy Mills. Sphar, Galatz and Perry are visiting artists and all members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA). Students from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film cast in the production are Clayton Edward (Rexy/Jason) and Elaine Stueve (Jo), as well as Alejandro F. Alarcon, Philip Crawford, Beck Damron, Japrice Green, Maria Smal, Jesse Turos and Cullen Wiley.
The production is designed by Marty Wolff (scenic), Bryce Bassett (lighting) and Rebecca Armstrong (costumes), all Master of Fine Arts candidates in Design; and Jeff O’Brien (sound). Technical Director is Austin Elledge, a graduate student, and Sound Engineer is visiting alumnae Araceli Ramirez. Production stage manager is Brad Buffum (AEA) with stage management by Dallis Votava, an undergraduate.