Syracuse University Department of Drama presents MAJOR BARBARA

"The greatest of evils and the worst crime is poverty," declared George Bernard Shaw in the introduction to his famous play "Major Barbara". Written in 1906, this deliciously provocative comedy is the next offering in the Syracuse University Department of Drama season. Performances in the Storch Theatre at the Syracuse Stage/Drama complex begin March 31, with the official opening night on April 1.

As in most of his famed comedies, Shaw in "Major Barbara" employs the dramatic technique of dialectic; that is setting characters with opposing ideas against each other. In this case, Shaw complicates the matter-as he frequently does-by making the opposites members of the same family. On one side is Barbara Undershaft, the "Major" of the title, who as a Salvation Army officer believes that the best way to help the poor is by first saving their souls. On the other side is Andrew Undershaft, Barbara's estranged father and a wealthy arms merchant, who contends that the best remedy for poverty is gainful employment, even if that employment involves selling lethal arms indiscriminately to anyone willing pay. Will a trip to Barbara's shelter persuade the elder Undershaft to give up cannons? Or, will a trip to the cannon works persuade Barbara to forsake the Salvation Army?

Shaw's trademark is to make conversation a form of verbal pugilism. The flurry of exchanges contain comic jabs, confounding feints, sucker punches and knock-out blows, with the naïve and ignorant the favored targets. It's the drawing room reconfigured as intellectual and moral boxing ring, and those who plant their feet firmly in the certainty of an ideal will surely find their knees buckling and heads woozy. Shaw delights in setting up arguments only to knock them down like so many bowling pins.

Shaw also delights in infusing the play with a degree of preposterousness. A comic sub-plot concerns the need for Undershaft to bequeath his company not to a blood relative, but to a "foundling". It just so happens that one is nearby. Shaw, too, was a master of the running gag, and the character of Charles Lomax, suitor to Barbara's sister Sarah, offers a superb example of this comic device in action.

In staging the play for the Department of Drama, director Gerardine Clark moves the action from pre-World War I to the 1930s. Situating the play between the two World Wars heightens the arguments about arms manufacturing, lifting them above the theoretical and making the destruction palpable. The other characters refer to Undershaft as the Prince of Darkness, a title that resonates quite seriously in the 1930s. Moreover, the widespread poverty experienced by much of post-World War I Europe strengthens the connection between this "greatest of evils and the worst crime" and the warfare that erupted at the end of the decade.

For all of the humor and wit contained in "Major Barbara", Shaw understood that poverty breeds violence on small and large scales. That observation made "Major Barbara" prescient in 1906 and has insured the play's relevance in the 100 plus years since.

Major Barbara

By George Bernard Shaw

Directed by Gerardine Clark

Scenic Design: Haley Parks

Costume Design: Maria E. Marrero

Lighting Design: Kiersten Kozbial

Sound Design: Kevin O'Connor

Dialect Coach: Holly Thuma

Dramaturg: Emma Ettinger

Stage Manager: Lauren Jackson

Cast

Djuna Knight................................................Lady Britomart Undershaft

Caleb James Grochalski..............................Stephen Undershaft

Kyra Stevens...........................................Barbara Undershaft

Olivia Barbieri...........................................Sarah Undershaft

Rupert Krueger.............................................Adolphus Cusins

Noah Schindler.............................................Charles Lomax

Tyler Lyons...........................................Andrew Undershaft

Jackie McKenna.....................................Bronterre O'Brien Price

Victoria Madden.....................................Rummy Mitchens

Danny Polevy........................................Peter Shirley, Morrison

Hannah Shaffer......................................Jenny Hill

Matthew Mueller......................................Bill Walker

Lindsey Marcus......................................Mrs. Baines

Alex Aronyi Low......................................Bilton

Additional Credits

Hair Design: Kristina Scalone

Assistant Scenic Designers: Jonathan Hayes, Breanna Zahakos

Assistant Costume Designer: Abby Magee

Assistant Stage Managers: Hector Aguirre, Andy Jacobson

Casting Assistant: Autumn Witz

Performance Dates

March 31 at 8 p.m. (preview)

April 1 at 8 p.m. (opening)

April 2 at 2 p.m.

April 5 at 8 p.m.

April 6 at 8 p.m.

April 7 at 8 p.m.

April 8 at 2 p.m. (open captioning)

April 8 at 8 p.m.

April 9 at 2 p.m. (ASL interpreted)

DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

The Syracuse University Department of Drama offers conservatory-style training in a university setting shared with a resident, professional theater (Syracuse Stage), presenting an unparalleled combination of teaching professionals and diverse performance and production opportunities. SU Drama offers four conservatory-style bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) degree programs in acting, musical theater, stage management, and theater design and technology, as well as a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree program in drama that features a Theater Management track. Undergraduates put classroom theory into practice through productions and various special opportunities, including Wednesday Lab, study abroad, the NYC-based Tepper Semester, the Sorkin in L.A. Learning Practicum, numerous community engagement initiatives and the opportunity to participate in workshops or discussions with such visiting artists as Taye Diggs '93, Aaron Sorkin '83, Vanessa Williams '85, Frank Langella '59, David Henry Hwang, Tim Miller, Tony Kushner and more.

Syracuse University COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

The Syracuse University Department of Drama is housed within the College of Visual and Performing Arts (SU:VPA). SU:VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. It provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that thrives on critical thought and action.

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