November 12 through November 22
Mallette Studio Theatre

Performance dates and times

According to Leibowitz, “A Christmas Carol remains inexhaustibly rich. Its message, language, its vibrant characterizations, and its storytelling power are still unsurpassed. Added to all of this is the joy of working with so many people from different walks of life and of different ages – we have a cast of 30-odd people that encompasses USI students, children, siblings, and veteran performers in the community. I love that our production and our process will truly celebrate the spirit of Dickens’ timeless story.”

Leibowitz and Rick Kersting, store manager at Schnucks West, will share the role of Scrooge. Evansville-area musician and actor and USI alumnus, Jon Lutz, will play Jacob Marley, and Gary Olson of Vincennes will play Mr. Fezziwig. Kersting, Lutz, and Olson have all performed in productions at Evansville Civic Theatre, USI Theatre, and New Harmony Theatre. Kersting said, “I think this will be an exciting experience, and it is an amazing role. I hope to do it justice.”

Area children cast in A Christmas Carol include Hanna Van Winkle, Andrea Conkright, Nadia Scharf, Connor Crosser, Nicholas Becker (younger brother of Erica Becker, a USI sophomore also in the cast), siblings Taylor and Reece McDaniel, Sara Fortner (younger sister of Rebecca Fortner, a design and production student at USI who serves as props master for A Christmas Carol), Layne Ceotto, Matlyn Maclead, and siblings Matthew and Jessica Bailey. Miss Bailey, who played Agnes in Meet Me in St. Louis at USI Theatre this past spring, said, “I am excited to return to USI for a second show. Meet Me in St. Louis was so much fun, and I learned a lot about performing. I am looking forward to another wonderful experience, with friends – old and new - including my little brother!” Miss Bailey will play Fan, and her brother Matthew will play Tiny Tim.

The cast also includes USI students Jeremy Brailsford, Rachel Schenk, Jasmine Ruckriegel, Kyle Rupert, Anachebe Asuomugha, Craig Patterson, Erica Becker, Meredith Woodard, Cecilee Salyers, Hillory Springer, Paul Mindrup, Jessica Reecer, Ashley Harris, Jessica Durkin, Kayla Stevens, Preston Edge, Jeff Dumond, and Jennifer McDaniel.

In addition to Leibowitz, the artistic team for A Christmas Carol includes USI students Jasmine Ruckriegel as assistant director, Danny Kopp as sound designer, and Ashley Riester as production stage manager; and USI Department of Performing Arts faculty members Robert Broadfoot as scenic designer, Craig Young as lighting designer, and Shan Jensen as costume designer.

School matinees are scheduled for November 17 and 18. Interested teachers should contact Amy Estes at 812/465-7110.

All performances are at the Mallette Studio Theatre on the USI campus. Tickets for A Christmas Carol are $12, with discounts for seniors and students. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact the box office at 812/465-1668 University of Southern Indiana Theatre includes children and veteran community performers in its staging of “A Christmas Carol” this November A turf war of the soul and a lamentation for the lost West, this is a major play by one of America's greatest living playwrights." Evansville, Indiana 4/3/9

The pros will tread the boards alongside students in two plays opening on two Evansville stages this week.

By Roger McBain, Evansville Courier & Press 11/6/8

The pros will tread the boards alongside students in two plays opening on two Evansville stages this week.

Evansville, Indiana 4/2/8

The Threepenny Opera is set in London’s Soho just before the coronation of Queen Victoria and reflects Brecht's delight in exposing corruption and skewering social conventions with humor and insouciance.

According to director Wasserman, True West is about "two adult brothers sharing some time in their mother's home who become locked in a psychological and sometimes violent struggle for their individual identities. A turf war of the soul and a lamentation for the lost West, this is a major play by one of America's greatest living playwrights."

The cast includes USI students Brandon Eck of Jasper and Jeff Dumond of Evansville as the brothers, Austin and Lee; Joshua Smith of Indianapolis as Saul and Emily Kirk of Evansville as Mom. In addition to Wasserman, the artistic team for True West includes USI Department of Performing Arts faculty members Robert Broadfoot as scenic designer and Craig Young as lighting designer and USI students Anna Kysar of Indianapolis as costume designer and Michael Frohbeiter of Haubstadt as sound designer.

Evansville, Indiana 4/3/9

April 3, 2009 –University of Southern Indiana Theatre will stage “Meet Me in St. Louis,” a musical based on the classic film featuring Judy Garland, April 16 – 26, 2009, at the Mallette Studio Theatre on the University of Southern Indiana campus. Lenny Leibowitz, assistant professor of theatre at USI and artistic director of New Harmony Theatre, directs the cast of eight children, 15 USI students, and two community players who range in age from eight to 64.

The musical is set in 1904, just before the St. Louis World’s Fair. Over the course of a year, the Smith family celebrates triumphs and faces crises together. According to Leibowitz, “the music is buoyant and giddy, and the show takes great stock in family and community. It celebrates the American vibrancy and vitality that was exploding at the turn of the century, and it also reminds us how fragile happiness can be. The characters all have individual dreams that they are ultimately willing to sacrifice for the good of the family.” Well-known songs from the show include “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley,” and the title tune, “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

The children in the show have enjoyed creating a theatrical family through the rehearsal process. Taylor McDaniel, a sixth grade student at Evansville Christian School, is one of two young women playing the role of Agnes. She said, “It has been so fun being around the college kids. They really treat me like I am their sister.” At a recent rehearsal, Taylor took time out to help Andrea Conkright, a third grader at West Terrace Elementary School, with her homework. Conkright said that Taylor makes a “pretty good older sister.”

The girls have drawn on their own experiences to play the roles of Agnes and Tootie, the two youngest members of the Smith family. Jessica Bailey, a sixth grader at Holy Name School in Henderson, is the oldest of six children. She shares the role of Agnes with McDaniel. Bailey said that she could relate to the Smith family because “there is always something interesting going on at my house, too.” Conkright reported that as the youngest of four, she is, like Tootie, the baby of her family.

All of the girls expressed an interest in continuing to act, sing, and dance, although they have other interests that range from fashion design to biomechanical engineering. They agreed that one of the best things about their experience in “Meet Me in St. Louis” has been pretending to be someone else. According to Layne Ceotto, a fourth grade student at Jefferson Elementary School in Henderson who shares the role of Tootie with Conkright, “Tootie is a troublemaker. She loves to do things that make people mad or cause mischief.” Conkright agreed that it is fun to “actually get in trouble” on purpose.

The USI students and community members in the cast have taken an interest in helping the youngsters learn the songs, choreography, and blocking. Jasmine Ruckriegel, a sophomore theatre major from Jasper, plays Esther, the role originated by Judy Garland. Ruckriegel also has additional responsibilities. As assistant director for the production, she works with the young girls in the production to make sure that both Agneses and both Tooties have learned all the same blocking. Ruckriegel said, “Working with the children has been such a joy. They all bring something very interesting and wonderful to table, and when you put all their ideas and interpretations of Agnes and Tootie together, you get some really great moments.”

According to Amy Estes, managing director of University Theatres, the production has generated enormous enthusiasm from the community. She has already had to add performances to accommodate the demand for tickets. She said, “It is a musical that the entire family can enjoy together.”

The cast includes Gary Olson of Vincennes as Grandpa and Brandon Sears of Evansville as John Truitt; Bailey and McDaniel as Agnes, Ceotto and Conkright as Tootie, and Catherine Hitchcock, Hope Luker, Sarah Redmon, and Hanna Van Winkle as other children in the musical. In addition to Ruckriegel, USI students in the cast include Erica Becker, Kevin Bickwermert , Jeremy Brailsford, Jeff Dumond, Brandon Eck, Preston Harris-Dunlap, Bridget Hoover, Emily Kirk, Jessica Reecer, Kyle Rupert, Rachel Schenk, Joshua Smith, Meredith Woodard, and Rachel Ziegler. In addition to Leibowitz, the artistic team for “Meet Me in St. Louis” includes USI students Paige Scott as musical director, Susan Ryan as choreographer, and Bradley A. Lock as costume designer, along with USI Department of Performing Arts faculty members Craig A. Young as scenic and lighting designer and Thomas “Tommy” Thompson as sound designer.

By Roger McBain Evansville Courier & Press November 6, 2008 The pros will tread the boards alongside students in two plays opening on two Evansville stages this week. The New Harmony Theatre renews its collaboration with University of Southern Indiana Theatre, casting Actors Equity professionals alongside USI student players in repertory productions of Clifford Odets' Depression-era drama "Waiting for Lefty," which opens tonight, and William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," which opens Saturday. Tonight's opening production of "Waiting For Lefty," leading into Saturday's debut of "Much Ado About Nothing" marks the second season for New Harmony Theatre and USI Theatre's Repertory Project. Phillip Clark, an Equity player who appeared in last year's plays, returns this season to play roles in "Lefty," directed by USI faculty member Elliot Wasserman, and in "Much Ado," directed by Lenny Leibowitz, the USI theater teacher who serves as artistic director for New Harmony Theatre. "Lefty" a one-act play set during a New York City taxi strike in 1935, is a hallmark example of the theater of social realism. Wasserman's 15-member cast includes Clark and three other Equity players and 11 students. Leibowitz will serve double duty in "Much Ado About Nothing," performing in and directing the Shakespearean play. Leibowitz will play Dogberry, the addled constable in "Much Ado," with four Equity cast members and 14 students. Evansville, Indiana 4/2/8

USI Theatre presents The Threepenny Opera, with book and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht and music by Kurt Weill, at the Mallette Studio Theatre on the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center at University of Southern Indiana. The production, directed by Lenny Leibowitz, runs April 10 – 20. Heralded as "one of the most powerful creations" of the 20th century for managing "in one fell swoop to change the nature of musical theatre and of opera," The Threepenny Opera is set in London’s Soho just before the coronation of Queen Victoria and reflects Brecht's delight in exposing corruption and skewering social conventions with humor and insouciance. John Jeremiah Peachum is the boss of London's beggars, setting each one up with a story and a street corner in return for a share of their take. The Peachums fear their business will suffer when their lovely daughter, Polly, leaves the fold to marry Macheath, the boss of a criminal gang that benefits from Macheath's old friendship with the police chief. They have Mack arrested in spite of his connections by threatening to unleash all the beggars at once, just before the Queen’s coronation. Mack prepares for his execution, but at the last moment, he is granted a reprieve. Proclaimed by Newsweek’s Jack Kroll as "the greatest musical of all time," The Threepenny Opera ran off-Broadway from 1954 to 1961. Its cast album sold in record numbers, and its most famous song, Mack the Knife, became a standard. According to Lenny Leibowitz, assistant professor of theatre at USI and the director of the production, he selected the piece because, "It is the granddaddy of all conceptual musicals like Cabaret and Chicago. It is a pungent mixture of high culture and low farce; a strange compendium of opera, jazz, melodrama, and social effrontery."In addition to Leibowitz, the artistic team includes USI theatre faculty members Craig A. Young as scenic designer and Shan Jensen as costume designer, and USI students Sean Nicholl as lighting designer and Ryan Nash as sound designer. The acting company includes USI students Jeni Ahlfeld, Kensington Blaylock, Jeremy Brailsford, Amelia Dalto, Dinetia Dean, Brandon Eck, Preston Harris- Dunlap, Joshua K. Lenn, Jonathon Lutz, Jasmine Ruckriegel, Rachel Schenk, Paige Scott, Joshua Smith, Meredith Woodard, and Robert Wright.

The Threepenny Opera runs April 10 - 13 and April 15 - 20 in the Mallette Studio Theatre on the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center at USI. Performance times are at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Ticket prices are $12 for adults, $10 for non-USI students and for seniors 60 and over, and $6 for USI students. The Threepenny Opera contains adult language and themes. Tickets may be purchased by calling the USI Theatre box office at 812-422-3970 or at the door. The box office opens one hour before each performance.