Theater at EMU is presenting six performances of its spring mainstage production, “Dancing at Lughnasa,” by Brian Friel.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Apr. 8-10 and Apr. 15-17 in the mainstage theater of the University Commons. Thomas P. Joyner, assistant professor of theater at EMU, directs the eight-member cast in this intense study of the lives of five impoverished women set in 1936 in Ireland’s County Donegal in the fictional town of Ballybeg.

About the play

The play is loosely based on the lives of dramatist Friel’s mother and aunts who lived in the Glenties on the west coast of Donegal. The play depicts the late summer days when love briefly seems possible for three of the Mundy sisters (Chris, Rose and Kate) and the family welcomes home the frail elder brother from life as a missionary in Africa.

However, as the summer ends, the family foresees the sadness and economic privations under which they will suffer as hopes begin to fade.

The play premiered Oct. 15, 1990 at the Lyttelton Theater at the Royal National Theater in London on 15 October 1990. The production, produced by Bill Kenwright and Noel Pearson, then transferred to the Phoenix Theater, London, on Mar. 25, 1991. In 2009, a run opened at the Old Vic from Feb. 26 to May 9.

The play opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theater on Oct. 24,1991, where the production won the Tony Award for “Best Play” in 1992. “Dancing at Lughnasa” was adapted for film in 1998 starring Meryl Streep as Kate Mundy.

Ticket info

Tickets are available from the EMU Box Office, 540-432-4582 or ordered online at www.emu.edu/boxoffice.

The Thursday, Apr. 8 performance will be offered at no charge, donations accepted; come as you are, pay what you will. For the remaining nights, reserved tickets are $10 for adults, $12 at the door, and $8 for seniors and non-EMU students ($10 at the door).Group rates available.

Information regarding age appropriateness for EMU events is available through the Box Office.

Theater at EMU is giving six performances of its fall production, “Metamorphoses,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 6-8 and Nov. 13-15, in the mainstage theater of the University Commons.

The Nov. 8 performance is part of a special “arts night” at EMU and will begin at 8:30 p.m.

Based on Ovid’s transformation myths, “Metamorphoses,” written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman, mixes the ancient stories with contemporary language, humor, music and thought. Much of the action centers around a large pool of water that evokes natural and emotional turbulence, and the ensemble cast of actors create the illusion that it is as deep as the sea. Characters melt into this pool, and galleons are destroyed by storms. Timeless themes emerge, including the inevitability of change and the human ability to adapt to change.

Characters melt into this pool, and galleons are destroyed by storms. Timeless themes emerge, including the inevitability of change and the human ability to adapt to change.

Ingrid De Sanctis, assistant professor of theater at EMU, directs an 11-member cast in the critically-acclaimed play, which ran on Broadway in 2002 and earned a Tony award for director Mary Zimmerman.

Stage managers are Susan Alexander and Allison Turman; Phil Grayson is set designer and lighting design is by David Vogel.

“Zimmerman’s play has been called piercingly beautiful, and the ensemble cast of EMU students bring an elegance and honesty to these stories,” said De Sanctis. “In this constantly changing world, ‘Metamorphosis’ and its ancient myths of change remind me of the beauty in transformation. You won’t want to miss it,” she added.

The play runs 90 minutes with no intermission.

Tickets are $10/12 for adults, $8/10 for non-EMU students and senior citizens at the door. Advance tickets are available from the EMU box office, 540-432-4582. Information regarding age appropriateness is also available through the box office.