A surprising musical
about finding love and compassion when it’s least deserved, “Dogfight” will be staged
at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point May 6-8 and 11-13.
Performances will
be held in the Studio Theatre in the Noel Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday
and Saturday, May 6-7, and Thursday through Friday, May 11-13. A 2 p.m. matinee
will be offered both Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8.
Set the night
before President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the story centers on three
young marines who have a secret competition on the final evening out before
they are deployed to Vietnam. Corporal Eddie Birdlace, played by Sam McLellan
of Wautoma, meets an idealistic waitress named Rose, played by Haley Haupt of Brookfield.
Despite his ill intent, Eddie learns a lesson that will stay with him in years
to come.
The military
aspects of the show have given director Alan Patrick Kenny, an assistant
professor of musical theater, a way to bond the student cast and production
team members. Each rehearsal starts with 22 minutes of boot-camp style
exercises to increase their stamina for the challenging material in the show as
well as give them insight into the military and group dynamic.
How people treat
each other in a group versus how they treat each other one-on-one is key to the
theme of the show, Kenny said. “This play is a reflection of all of us. Why do
we behave a certain way with others instead of the way our heart leads us?”
With a
contemporary rock score that is both delicate and aggressive, and an
environmental set that brings audience members right into the action, the show
becomes a personal and vital experience, he said.
“Dogfight” has also
struck a chord with the student actors, Kenny said, as they have taken to heart
its messages about war and the loss of innocence. One student was inspired to
share with the cast what she’d learned about the Vietnam War in an anthropology
course.
“It’s been an
extremely positive rehearsal process,” said Kenny. “Despite its dark subject
matter, the show has incredible heart, a hauntingly beautiful score and a story
that will stay with you long after it’s over. I hope it starts conversations
among the audience and community.”
Tickets are $21 for adults, $20 for seniors,
$16 for youth and $4.50 for students with UW-Stevens Point ID. Tickets are
available at the UW-Stevens Point Information and Tickets Office, located in
the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or at http://tickets.uwsp.edu.
The production is for mature audiences, and
contains vivid depictions of wartime combat, including the use of stage
weapons, fog, haze, strobe lights, and sounds of gunfire and explosions. Some
audience members may find these images disturbing.
Watch a video about the "Dogfight" production.