The outrageous characters and dark humor of the Irish comedy "The Cripple of Inishmaan" will touch audiences during the play's two-weekend run at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, says Stephen Trovillion Smith, the play�s director.

"It�s a very black comedy and very funny. It says something about the human condition," said Smith, associate professor in UWSP�s Theater and Dance Department. "The Irish have a wonderful way with language."

Set in the 1930s, the Martin McDonagh play follows "Cripple Billy" and his friends as they leave their own impoverished Aran Island to seek Hollywood stardom with a director filming a documentary. The production opens at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in Jenkins Theater of the UWSP Noel Fine Arts Center. Performances also are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26; Thursday, March 3; Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27.

"I think it�s important in America � and here � to see world views, especially in a humorous way," Smith said.

Though the play's theme is universal, it is an adult comedy, Smith said. "It�s not for children. There�s some adult language."

Recreating that language in the charming accent often called an "Irish lilt" required a dialect coach for the nine student actors, and Smith found an experienced one nearby. Retired UWSP Theater Professor Tom Nevins, whose ancestors came from Ireland, said he particularly enjoyed working with the students on this particular play.

"The Irish have a great love for the spoken word," said Nevins, who created and taught a course in dialects. Half the fun of working on a play such as "The Cripple" is recreating it as the playwright intended, he said.

"I was terribly impressed with the cast," said Nevins, who began studying dialects as a boy growing up in an ethnically mixed Chicago neighborhood and mastered 16 dialects during his 42-year career in theater and education.

Tickets may be purchased from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the University Box Office in Room 103 of the UWSP University Center. Tickets also may be ordered by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378. Visa, Mastercard and Discover are accepted. Admission is $13 for adults, $12 for seniors and $8 for youths, which includes a $1 ticketing fee. Tickets are $3.50 for students with UWSP ID or free the day of the show if seats are available.