TWU Theatre to showcase literary legends

Sept. 3, 2024 – DENTON – Three of literature's legendary authors will be featured in TWU Theatre's 2024-25 season.

The upcoming campaign will offer four plays and one staged reading, and will include works by Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and a major figure in early modernism in theatre; Jane Austen, English novelist whose six beloved novels earned her fame after her death; and Mary Shelley, English novelist and author of one of the seminal works of science fiction and horror.

The season will open with Jordan Harrison’s Kid Simple, directed by Patrick Bynane, PhD. The play follows Moll, who invents a machine that can hear the unheard, and the device attracts the eyes of the wicked. The play follows Moll’s quest to save sound - and the universe. Kid Simple runs October 9-13.

The season's second production is Chekhov’s classic The Seagull, adapted and directed by associate professor Steven Young. This masterpiece of realism follows fading stage actress Arkadina and her family, and explores how easily the most ambitious dreams become the most self-destructive delusions. The Seagull runs November 20-24.

In December, there will be a staged reading of an adaptation of Shelly’s Frankenstein, written by TWU Theatre master's candidate Felix Ferris and directed by Noah Lelek, PhD. Performances will take place December 6-7.

Spring will open with Jane Austen’s Emma, adapted by Doon MacKichan and Martin Millar and directed by Bynane. This adaptation follows Austen and her nieces as they reenact the famous story of a self-centered, would-be matchmaker and her own path to love and self-discovery. Emma runs February 19-23, 2025

The season closes with the rock musical Spring Awakening, written by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, and directed by associate professor Noah Lelek. Based on an 1891 play, the musical tells the story of adolescent sexual awakening in the face of a repressive society rife with hypocrisy. Spring Awakening runs April 11-13 and 17-19, 2025

This season's evening shows will start at 7:30. Tickets for all shows are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Additionally, TWU Theatre offers a pay-what-you-can option available at the Saturday 2 p.m. performances. To purchase tickets online, visit the Purchase Tickets page. Tickets are also available at the box office one hour before each performance. For more information, call the TWU Box office at (940) 898-2020. For updates, follow on Instagram at txwomans_theatre or on Facebook at TWU Theatre.