| WAUKESHA – A cast of nine, including 8 students, has been chosen for the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha production of The Primary English Class, a comedy by Israel Horovitz. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, March 9, 10, 16, and 17, at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 11, at 2:00 p.m. in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in the Fine Arts Center on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha.
Originally performed in New York in 1976, and set in an unadorned classroom, The Primary English Class is a lesson in learning English as a second language. A young, eager teacher (played in New York by Diane Keaton) of basic English is faced with a group of new citizens, each from a different culture. Among her students are an excitable Italian, an over-eager Frenchman, a near-sighted German, and elderly Chinese lady, and an attractive Japanese girl. All their surnames roughly translate to “wastebasket,” and this is all they seem able to convey to each other. As the students and teacher try to communicate, translators let the audience in on the fun.
Appearing with the UW-Waukesha Lunt-Fontanne Ensemble are:
- Scott Condella, Waukesha, as Smiednik, the Polish janitor
- Tim Curtis, Mukwonago, as Carlo Fredriko Rizzonini LaPatumiera, the Italian
- Shaun Hosseini, Milwaukee, as Jean-Michel La Poubelle, the Frenchman
- Marques Schwartz, Sussex, as the male translator
- Taylor Hammerling, Waukesha, as Fritz Mulleimer, the German
- Tricia Toston, Milwaukee, as Mrs. Pong, the old Chinese woman
- Michelle Growel, Waukesha, as the female translator
- Kelly Banach, New Berlin, as Yoko Kuzukago, the Japanese girl
- Eve Roller, Waukesha, as Debbie Wastba, the teacher
Student LeAnne Pomeroy, Sussex, is stage manager, assisting director Mark Lococo, who is UW-Waukesha’s theater director and an assistant professor of communication & theater arts.
Tickets for the play are $7.00, with a $1.00 discount allowed for students and senior citizens. All seating is reserved. For ticket information, phone (262) 521-5212. |
