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‘Tragedy’ raises questions, honors Boise State great
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The Boise State University Theatre Arts Department welcomes entertainment fiends from all walks of life to its latest theatrical installment, “Tragedy: A Tragedy,” which opened Oct. 2 and will run Oct. 8-11 at the Morrison Center in Danny Peterson Theatre II at 7:30 p.m. A special matinee will also run Oct. 12 at 12 p.m.
“Tragedy” playwright, Will Eno is an established figure in British stage drama and is up and coming in the New York theater scene. Referred to by The New York Times as “a Samuel Beckett for the John Stewart generation,” Eno offers a classic comedic spin on the contemporary media issues of today.
When the sun sets for the final time, literal rumors of apocalyptic proportions hit the streets, and the true colors and motivations of society and everyday people become starkly apparent.
These ideas are expressed in “Tragedy” through the roles of a newscast: Frank, the in-studio anchor; John, a field reporter; Constance, also a field reporter; Michel, the broadcast’s legal advisor and also through the insights of an innocent witness. Josh Rippy, Evan Sesek, Katie Hamilton, Veronica Von Tobel and Matt Baltzell play these parts respectively. The intervening role of broadcast news projects a statement regarding the trust and dependence society heaps on the one-way communication system of television.
The talented and funny cast works well under the constraints of the script, which reflects Eno’s interpretation of the dry simplicity of modern broadcast news.
Laughs and strikingly profound questions regarding the functionality of our society are only a couple of the extras viewers are sure to take away from the show.
On a special note, the theater space where the production is performed was rededicated Thursday night, just before the opening performance. The area once known as Stage II was renamed the Danny Peterson Theatre, named after a great Boise theatrical activist.
Peterson, a Boise State Theatre Department alumnus, died July 22, 2008 due to natural causes.
The 55-year-old will always be noted as instrumental in the building of the Idaho theater scene. Peterson was involved in nearly every major Boise theater including: Boise Little Theater, Idaho Repertory Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theater and Idaho Theater for Youth. Peterson was also partially responsible for the creation of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in 1977.
“Our local theater community and countless audience members unexpectedly lost a shining light. Danny Peterson was one of the most loved and revered theater artists throughout the entire state of Idaho. He was a brilliant comedian, a character actor of the highest order and a lifelong student of theater,” Theatre Arts Department Chair Richard Klautsch said. “And though I can hear him now telling us not to go to all that bother naming a theater for him, and no matter how we nickname the space, our days in here will always be a little bit brighter knowing that his spirit, and our memory of him, will never fade.”
KAYLA CHRISTOPHERSON
CULTURE COORDINATOR
