Directed by: Dr. Lee F. Orchard

Location: University Theatre

Tickets:

$15 adults / $10 senior citizens and non-Valpo students
free admission for Valpo students, faculty and staff 

Not suitable for children under the age of 13

Auditions: Wednesday, August 24, 7-10:30 p.m. in the University Theatre 
Callbacks: Thursday, August 25, 7-10:30 p.m. in the University Theatre

Performances:
Wednesday, October 5, 8 p.m
Thursday, October 6, 8 p.m
Friday, October 7, 8 p.m
Saturday, October 8, 2 p.m
Sunday, October 9, 2 p.m. 

There once was a king who one night found his wife in the arms of a slave. The world darkened for him, his soul grew sick, and he killed them both on the carpet of the bed.   He became so convinced that all women are deceitful and unfaithful that he vowed to marry a virgin each night, only to kill her the next morning.   For three years, his advisor is given the unhappy task of procuring an endless stream of victim-brides, until no one remains in the kingdom who is eligible to be sacrificed to the King's anger.   However, the king discovers that his faithful servant has two daughters and demands the elder as his bride that very night and the younger girl the next night.  The eldest girl agrees and brings her sister to the palace with a plan to try and save her life, her sister's life, and the lives of any other unlucky girls who might follow.   The girl’s father is instructed to return to the palace the following morning carrying his daughter's burial shroud.

The marriage takes place, the king attempts to kill his bride; but her sister, cries that she cannot sleep unless she hears one of her Scheherezade's wonderful stories.   And thus it begins, as one tale leads to another tale which leads to another—each tale ending with a reprieve from death for one more night, just so that the king can hear how each story will end.  The cycle continues for a thousand and one nights.

Mary Zimmerman’s acclaimed adaptation of The Arabian Nights weaves ancient tales of wonder into a rich and poetic testament to the transformational power of story telling.  Nominated for a drama desk award, and containing an ensemble cast of sixteen actors who play over fifty different parts, its stories embrace an incredible range of emotions and ideas, from love and lust, to greed and revenge, to hilarity and sorrow, to finally redemption and forgiveness.

“A storybook world come to life...A seamless narrative with song and carefully stylized movement in which stories endlessly beget other stories, like the boxes within boxes in a Chinese puzzle toy...” --New York Times

“Funny, sexy (erotic would be a more apt description) romantic, enchanted and enchanting...” --Clive Barnes, New York Post

“It’s as if Mary Zimmerman held in one hand a giant kaleidoscope and in the other the horn of plenty...” --New York magazine