Action-packed Months Ahead For Una Summer Theater

May. 01, 2012

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of North Alabama's 2012 Summer Theater program is already in full swing as participants prepare for the presentation of the Canon of American Theater Classics, which will be showcased at the newly constructed George S. Lindsey Theatre on UNA's campus. This year, officials with the UNA Summer Theater program have chosen a work that is considered to be one of the greatest plays of all time. Written by American playwright Tennessee Williams, "A Streetcar Named Desire" is a tale about the fragile, delusional southern belle Blanche DuBois who moves to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, in a dingy apartment. Temperaments clash, fireworks fly and secrets are revealed in this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. The Professional Company of Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" will be directed by two-time Tony-nominated Randal Myler. Myler, who has directed at numerous theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other locations. He also has written several musicals, including "It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues" as well as "Love, Janis" and "Hank Williams: Lost Highway." Myk Watford, who will play Stanley, is the star of the Broadway and blockbuster film production of "No Country for Old Men." Watford also directed last year's UNA Summer Theater production. Hollywood actress Elaine Hendrix, star of Disney's "The Parent Trap," will play the role of Blanche. UNA Theater Faculty Member Charlton James will perform the role of Mitch. Subsequent seasons will present other great American plays, such as "Our Town," "The Grapes of Wrath," "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," "The Glass Menagerie," "Of Mice and Men," and "A Raisin in the Sun." The goal of UNA Summer Theater is to make the UNA campus and Shoals community a destination of choice for professional actors who seek a refreshing and invigorating summer venue to invest their creative energies and share their gifts with aspiring artists. UNA Summer Theater has as its mission the establishment of a professional resident theater company at UNA dedicated to bringing the great classics of the American theater tradition to the Shoals. Housed in the newly constructed George S. Lindsey Theatre, UNA Summer Theater has at its core a commitment to the highest standards of theatrical production on a scale previously unattained in this region, employing professional actors and technical personnel to work alongside UNA faculty and students. "A Streetcar Named Desire" will run from June 28 until July 8. Evening show times are scheduled for June 28 to 30 and July 6 to 7 at 7:30 p.m. Afternoon show times are scheduled for June 30 and July 1, 7, and 8 at 2 p.m. For more information, contact UNA's Department of Music and Theatre at 256-765-5122 or visit on the web at www.una.edu/music-theatre.