USI Theatre presents
Eleemosynary, a play by Lee Blessing, Wednesday, October 4, through Sunday, October 15. It features three generations of women struggling to balance their love for each other with their individual expectations and needs. Dorothea is the eccentric and stubborn family matriarch, while her daughter, Artie, is more down-to-earth but unable to cope with the day-to-day responsibilities of raising her daughter, Echo. Echo lives with Dorothea and devotes herself to her studies, but longs for a closer relationship with her mother. According to
The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Eleemosynary is a “funny, perceptive and eloquently written” play.
The production marks
Lenny Leibowitz’s directorial debut in the Evansville area. Leibowitz taught at Boston University and directed Off-Broadway and at major regional theatres across the country before moving to Evansville this summer to accept the positions of assistant professor of theatre at USI and artistic director of The New Harmony Theatre, the professional summer theatre produced by USI.
According to Leibowitz, the play “ultimately hinges on a question that resonates with all of us: how do we understand those we love on their terms rather than on our own?”
The cast of
Eleemosynary includes USI students
Joanne Gottcent as Dorothea,
Kensington Blaylock as Artie, and
Jasmine Ruckriegel as Echo. The design team for
Eleemosynary includes USI theatre students
Greg Schafer as scenic designer,
Robert Dagit as lighting designer, and
Ryan Nash as sound designer. USI faculty member
Shan Jensen is the costume designer.
Eleemosynary runs October 4-7 and October 11–15 in the Mallette Studio Theatre on the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center. Performance times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. There is one Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on October 15.
Single ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for non-USI students and for seniors 60 and over, and $4 for USI students. Season tickets for all productions in the USI Theatre season also are available at a discount. Tickets may be purchased by calling the USI Theatre box office at 812/422-3970 or
online. Tickets also may be purchased at the door; the box office will open one hour before each performance.
