Campus Connection

Theatre production promises to whisk you away for a warm holiday in the sunny, Mediterranean world

The Department of Theatre Arts will present the Tony-nominated play "Enchanted April" by Michael Barber. It's a gentle and romantic comedy of four women’s journeys to self discovery and empowerment. Enchanted April runs Nov. 30-Dec. 1 and Dec. 6-8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, Dec. 2 and 9, at 2 p.m. in the Toland Theatre in the Center for the Arts. In 1920s post-WWI society, two frustrated London housewives, Lotty Wilton and Rose Arnott, decide to rent a villa in Italy for a holiday — without their husbands. The housewives recruit two ladies, an elderly widow, Mrs. Graves, and young, beautiful socialite, Caroline Bramble, to split the finances and join in the fun of an Italian holiday. With the arrival of two chastened husbands and one attractive young artist, romance blooms again. Against the backdrop of a country still reeling from World War I, "Enchanted April" offers to its characters, and viewers, a necessary balm of sunshine and renewal. Among the wisteria blossoms and the Mediterranean sunshine, the four ladies form unlikely friendships, redefine and strengthen their marriages, and rediscover themselves in the process. "Enchanted April," based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning movie in 1992. Daily Variety described "Enchanted April" as “A comical, restorative journey of discovery ... from darkness to light, from inhibition to unrestrained joy. Beautiful and theatrically rewarding.” If you go: Who: Department of Theatre Arts What: "Enchanted April" by Michael Barber When: November 30-December 1 & December 6-8, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. and December 2 & 9, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Where: Toland Theater, Center for the Arts, 333 N. 16th St. Admission: $6 for UWL students, $16 for other students and senior citizens and $18 for others. Tickets may be purchased online at www.uwlax.edu/theatre-arts. In person and phone reservations begin Nov. 29 at 608.785.8522. Box office hours are 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and one hour before each performance. Cast: Alec Bercham, Sarah Coppenbarger, Emily Farebrother, Sarah Lambert, Grant Latus, Evan Medd, Katie Piper, Maddie Stoffel Crew: Jeanne Wilcoxon (Director), Rachel Krause (Stage Manager), Mandy Kolbe (Scenic Designer), Ben Golden (Lighting Designer), Lexi Mitchell (Sound Designer), Christian Sontag (Technical Director), Joe Anderson (Costume/Makeup Designer)