UCI Drama Investigates History Repeating In Tony Kushner's A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY

UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama continues its 2017 - 18 season "The Business of Politics/The Politics of Business" with Professor Andrew Borba's fresh look at Tony Kushner's ever-relevant A Bright Room Called Day. First written in 1985, at the play's center is a group of friends in 1930s Berlin, experiencing the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Interspersed with this primary narrative is a contemporary American character, weighing parallels between the rise of Hitler, Reagan-era conservatism and the present day.

With language more prescient than Kushner could likely have imagined at the play's inception, the current production's resonance is deeply enhanced by its corresponding historical moment. With references to "false history," the "Triumph of the Brain Dead," and political evils that are "more veiled, the trails better covered," the dialogue often crackles with jaw-dropping relativity. "It's a little terrifying, how prophetic the text is," said Borba. "This is clearly a provocative and important play to produce right now, both in terms of reflecting on layers of history repeating, and in stimulating discussions - hopefully even across divides - that are enormously critical right now."

With an immersive set that is both intimate and imposing, the audience of Bright Room will feel included in an ideological conversation that promises to be at once emotionally engaging and intellectually challenging - all with Kushner's signature note of wry activism. We hope you can join UCI Drama for this unique production, as well as for the finale of our season in June, Green Day's defiant musical American Idiot.

Performances and Ticket Information

Robert Cohen Theatre. Parking: 4000 Mesa Rd, Irvine, CA 92617

Evenings: April 28, May 3, 4, 5 at 8:00 p.m.

Evening: May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Matinees: April 29*, May 5, 6 at 2:00 p.m.

General Admission $18 / Seniors & Groups 10+ $15 / UCI Students & Children under 17 $11. Box Office (949) 824-2787 or www.arts.uci.edu/tickets.

The UCI Drama production team will host a post-performance TalkBack on April 29th after the 2 p.m. matinee with the creative team and cast.

About UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts: As UCI's creative laboratory, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts explores and presents the arts as the essence of human experience and expression, through art forms ranging from the most traditional to the radically new. The international faculty works across a wide variety of disciplines, partnering with others across the campus. National-ranked programs in art, dance, drama, and music begin with training but end in original invention. Students come to UCI to learn to be citizen-artists, to sharpen their skills and talents, and to become the molders and leaders of world culture. For more information, visit www.arts.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

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