'Vicious' comedy to be performed

“The Universal Wolf,” described by director Joan M. Schenkar as a vicious new version of “Little Red Riding Hood” with a post-modern twist, will be performed at Valparaiso University in February.

Valpo’s Department of Theatre will present the production Feb. 16-18 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 19-20 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre at Valpo’s Center for the Arts. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students and may be purchased by calling the Valpo Box Office at (219) 464-5162 or online at www.valpo.edu/vuca.

The cast includes a murderous Grandmere, her wicked granddaughter, Little Red, the debonair Monsieur Woolf, and a Reader, who reads all of the stage directions that “the actor’s can’t, won’t, or don’t do.” In addition, the Reader takes on the voice of all the other characters in the play, because the play is written to be performed in the form of a reading or a recital. Critics have called the play “a side-splitting comedy that has delighted audiences across the country and around the world.” The production is not appropriate for children.

Joan M. Schenkar, who wrote “The Universal Wolf,” has been called “America’s most original female contemporary playwright.” Schenkar has been the recipient of more than 40 grants, fellowships and awards for her “comedies of menace.”

R. Andrew White, director and associate professor of theatre, has professional credits that include acting in Chicago, Russia and regionally at Indiana Repertory Theatre and the Indiana Shakespeare Festival. White’s areas of expertise include performance, classical approaches to acting, the Russian actor-director Konstantin Stanislavsky, the actor-teacher Michael Chekhov, Anton Chekhov and the intersection of yoga and acting practice.

The final mainstage production of Valpo’s 2010-2011 theatre season is “Floyd Collins,” a musical filled with raw human emotion, based on a true story from 1925. For more information about the upcoming production or to purchase tickets, call the Valpo Box Office at (219) 464-5162 or visit the Department of Theatre website at www.valpo.edu/theatre.

The Brauer Museum of Art will be open to the public prior to and following the Saturday and Sunday performances (admission is free). Exhibitions currently on display are “Recent Views of an Inner World: Paintings by Richard Loving,” “Boonville: Photographs by Timothy Briner” and “Art and Culture in West Africa: Artifacts from Burkina Faso.” For more information, call (219) 464-5365 or visit the Brauer Museum of Art website at www.valpo.edu/artmuseum.