THE FOREIGNER, 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE and More Make Up Theatre UCF's 2014-15 Season

Theatre UCF, part of the UCF School of Performing Arts, introduces an Annual Arts Festival to its 2014-15 season, in addition to its regular schedule of plays and musicals.

Larry Shue's The Foreigner, running from June 12-29, is directed by Mark Brotherton (The Music Man, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment). The play centers on two British friends who visit a Southern fishing lodge. Since one of the gentlemen is shy and not keen on talking about his recent divorce, the pair tells the local residents that he doesn't speak English. Believing them, the residents openly share some of their secrets, causing "The Foreigner" to have to "learn" English in a very short period of time.

The Foreigner will take place in the Black Box. Patrons familiar with the UCF Black Box will be excited to learn that new seats have been installed in the theater, thanks to a donation from the Greene Family Fund. The old, uncomfortable seats had been a deterrent for patrons attending productions in that space.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is directed by Be Boyd (The Fantasticks, Stop Kiss). The light-hearted musical about six spelling champions and their mentors will run on the Main Stage July 10-20 and again August 21-24 to kick off the fall semester. The production includes optional participation from audience members. Patrons should arrive early in order to apply to be part of the show (no speshal spelling skills are needed!)

Both summer productions will begin evening performances at 7 pm. The regular start time of 8 pm will resume in August. The matinees will continue to start at 2 pm.

Julia Listengarten (Eurydice, Gem of the Ocean) will direct Baltimore Waltz, which runs September 18-October 4 in the Black Box. Written by Paula Vogel, the play tells the story of a sibling pair who are traveling through Europe in order to find a cure for the sister's fatal illness, Acquired Toilet Disease. Vogel wrote the play as a method of healing from the loss of her brother to AIDS.

The fall musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, shines a spotlight on the males in the Theatre department. Set in a South American prison, two cellmates share their fantasies in order to escape the horrors they encounter in the prison. One of the fantasies focuses on a famous diva, Aurora, who kills with her kiss. The musical is directed by Mark Brotherton and runs October 16-26 on the Main Stage.

Nick Jones's Trevor is directed by Christopher Niess (Love, Sex, and the IRS; No Sex Please, We're British) and runs November 13-23 in the Black Box. Trevor is a chimpanzee who was a childhood star. His career is now at a standstill and his owner just doesn't understand him. The story was inspired by the true story of a woman who was attacked by her pet chimpanzee.

The spring semester opens with Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Shakespeare in Love). Director Kate Ingram (The Underpants, Spike Heels) directed the play at the New Paltz Theatre in New York in 2000 and has long wanted to bring the science and math themed play to UCF. Arcadia runs from January 22-February 1 on the Main Stage.

Mark Routhier (Leveling Up) brings to the Black Box a new play from the 2013 Playfest! Part of Harriett's New Play Series from February 19-March 1. (a love story) looks at love through the eyes of three couples-and a few plants. It was written by Kelly Lusk.

To complement the male-heavy Kiss of the Spider Woman, the cast of the spring musical comprises mostly women. Nine is directed by Earl D. Weaver (The Drowsy Chaperone, Side Show). Nine takes the audience through one man's journey with life choices and how those choices affected his relationships with women. The musical is an homage to Frederico Fellini's film, '8 ½,' and deals with adult themes and situations.

From April 10-12, the Schools of Performing Arts and Visual Arts and Design will join forces for the First Annual Pegasus Arts Festival, to be held at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts. The three-day festival will consist of many mostly-free events and one large, ticketed celebratory interdisciplinary event.

Two productions are planned for summer 2015, which will be included in the 2015-16 season.

The full details and schedule for the 2014-15 season follow:

The Foreigner by Larry Shue

A comedic chain of events is set into action as a Georgia fishing lodge when two friends tell a small fib about one's ability to speak English.

June 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 7 pm
June 15, 22, 29 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Black Box Theatre, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Additional material by Jay Reiss
Directed by Be Boyd

Six spelling champs vie for ultimate glory in this spirited musical. Audience participation encouraged.

July 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 7 pm
August 21, 22, 23 at 8 pm
July 13, 20, August 24 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
Directed by Julia Listengarten

An intensely personal journey celebrating love in a moment of great despair. With Baltimore Waltz, playwright Paula Vogel pens a love note to her brother who recently passed away from AIDS-related complications. Anna and her brother embark upon a fantastical trip to Europe in order to flee the diagnosis of Acquired Toilet Disease, a fatal disease contracted by the sister from a school bathroom. Will they find an escape before reality sets in?

Sept 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, Oct 2, 3, 4 at 8 pm
Sept 21, 28, Oct 4 at 2 pm (Note: October 4 is a Saturday)
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Black Box, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

Kiss of the Spiderwoman
Music by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by Terrence McNally
Directed by Mark Brotherton

Winner! Multiple Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Kiss of the Spiderwoman is a harrowing tale of persecution turned into a dazzling spectacle that juxtaposes gritty realities with liberating fantasies. Cell mates in a Latin American prison, Valentin is a tough revolutionary undergoing torture and Molina is an unabashed homosexual serving eight years for deviant behavior. Molina shares his fantasies about an actress who portrays a deadly Spider Woman who kills with a kiss in order to distract himself and his new friend from the horrors they encounter in the prison. Kiss of the Spider Woman won the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score when it debuted on Broadway.

October 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 8 pm
October 19, 26 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

Trevor by Nick Jones
Directed by Christopher Niess

A play about fame, success, and the lies we tell ourselves in order to keep people from taking away our erratic, 200-pound chimpanzee. Trevor is a chimpanzee who once performed with the likes of Morgan Fairchild. Now, he's approaching puberty and can't even get a callback. Is it because he's big and strong and potentially dangerous? Or does he just need better costumes? Trevor lives alone with a Sandra, a middle aged widow. Sandra knows Trevor would never hurt anyone, at least not on purpose. And just because he's not "cute" like he used to be, she won't send him to some dirty sanctuary, at least not to appease her paranoid neighbor Ashley and her precious newborn baby.

November 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 at 8 pm
November 16, 23 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Black Box, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Kate Ingram

The mathematics and physics of human emotion. 1809, on an elegant English estate, thirteen year-old Thomasina makes a startling scientific discovery that will change the way people understand the world. Around her, the adults, including her tutor Septimus, are preoccupied with secret desires, illicit passions, and intense rivalries. Two hundred years later, academic adversaries Hannah and Bernard, under the scrutinizing eye of a young mathematician, are piecing together puzzling clues, uncovering the past scandals of the estate, in their quest for an increasingly elusive truth.

January 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 at 8 pm
January 25, February 1 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

(a love story) by Kelly Lusk
Directed by Mark Routhier

A new play, selected from readings at the 2013 PlayFest! Harriett's New Play Series. Love. We've killed over it. We've fought wars over it. Books dissect and explore it. We've been told by The Beatles that it's all we need. But what is it? (a love story) tells the tale of three couples who set out to answer this eternal question.

February 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8 pm
February 22, March 1 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Black Box, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

Nine book by Arthur Kopit, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston
Directed by Earl D. Weaver

A sexy and emotional voyage between fantasy and reality. Inspired by the Fellini film 8½, Nine was the winner of the 2003 Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Celebrated film director Guido Contini is in the midst of a midlife crisis and stuck for ideas for his next project. As he is pursued by beautiful women who are all clamoring to be his only love, flashbacks reveal the substance of his life which will become the material for his next film: a musical version of the Casanova story.

March 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8 pm
March 22, 29 at 2 pm
$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student
Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando
407-823-1500
http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
theatre@ucf.edu

For more information about Theatre UCF, visit http://theatre.ucf.edu.

Theatre UCF is part of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Central Florida. The department's graduate and undergraduate programs focus on providing a competitive edge to theatre artists seeking professional theatre careers, as well as to future creative intellectual leaders. The department offers theatrical presentations year-round to the public at the east Orlando campus. For more information about attending performances call 407-823-1500 or visit www.theatre.ucf.edu.

The University of Central Florida, the nation's second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation in its first 50 years. Today, the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region's future while providing students with real-world experiences that help them succeed after graduation. For more information, visit http://today.ucf.edu.

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