UIS Theatre presents "Awake and Sing!" by Clifford Odets

The Theatre Program at the University of Illinois Springfield presents the play Awake and Sing! by Clifford Odets, opening Friday, April 5. Six performances will be presented in the Studio Theatre, on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center at UIS - on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, April 5, 6, and 7, and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 11, 12, and 13. All shows will begin at 7:30 p.m., except the Sunday performance (April 7), which will begin at 2 p.m. UIS Associate Professor of Theatre Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson directs the play.

Awake and Sing! startled audiences in 1935 with a story that hit close to home--ordinary Americans struggling to survive and even hold on to their dreams in depression-era New York. This story of a struggling American family involves young Ralph Berger trying to find his own way in the world, while his sister, Hennie, strives to decide who she is: a pretty catch for some man, or a leader who will chart her own course toward happiness. These yearnings cannot be denied, but Ralph and Hennie's parents--Myron and especially Bessie--have other ideas about what it means to live in the hardest of times. Today, this play delivers new resonance to audiences who find themselves in an economy seemingly unable to fully recover.

Ticket prices are $14 for adults; $12 for senior citizens (65 or older with a picture I.D.); $10 for UIS Faculty/Staff; $8 for UIS students (and all other college-level students) with a valid, current i-card or college I.D. card; and $6 for 17 and under. Please note that a service charge, not included in the prices above, from Sangamon Auditorium will be added to each ticket price, at the time of purchase. To avoid a higher service charge, buying tickets in person at the Sangamon Auditorium ticket office is highly recommended.

For more information, contact Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson at 217/206-6613 or email ethib1@uis.edu, or visit www.uis.edu/theatre.