MUD Comes to CalRep

Artistic Director Jeff Janisheski says, "We open our season with María Irene Fornés' seminal work Mud. Fornés is often referred to as the American theatre's Mother of the Avant-Garde." This production of Mud will be part of the national Celebrando Fornés Festival promoting the life and legacy of this deeply influential playwright, including a panel discussion hosted by Cal Rep. This story of survival chosen for our Cal Rep season mirrors our current dark times as a country - and like all great plays, they shine a light for a way forward. This season marks the third year of Cal Rep's Devising Democracy, a four-year project "to tackle the crucial issues facing our nation, devising is about creating a democratic space - in the rehearsal room and in our world," says Janisheski.

Hopeful, hard-working Mae lives in bleak rural poverty, but she is going to school, and plans to better her life through the refined magic of reading and arithmetic. Lloyd, who lives with Mae, spends his time caring a little too much for the farm animals; he scorns to learn from a book, and treats Mae with angry disrespect. When Lloyd becomes ill, Mae goes searching for a diagnosis, and brings their simple, yet eloquent, neighbor Henry home with her, in order to help her read the difficult medical language. The ensuing love / hate triangle that brews between the three creates a toxic environment, and Mae determines that to break the ill-luck cycle of her life, she must escape the men who depend upon her. In Mud, Maria Irene Fornes has created a stark and uncompromising drama, in which a young woman puts her life on the line.

General Admission tickets are $23, tickets for students are $18, and for military and seniors (55 and older) are $20; go to www.calrep.org, to buy tickets and find out more information. The University Theatre is attached to the north side of the Theatre Arts Building while the Studio Theatre and Players Theatre are inside the Theatre Arts Building on the CSULB South Campus, accessible via 7th Street and West Campus Drive.