Pitt Repertory Theatre Presents Tony Award-winning Play, Dancing at Lughnasa, March 29-April 9

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre concludes its 2005-06 season "Memory Plays" with Irish playwright Brian Friel's Tony Award-winning Dancing at Lughnasa, March 29 through April 9 in the Henry Heymann Theatre, located in Pitt's Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, Oakland. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with matinees on Sundays at 2 p.m. A student matinee will be offered at 10 a.m. April 6.

Directed by Holly Thuma, the Richard Rauh Teaching Artist-in-Residence, Dancing at Lughnasa is a delightful dance through the memory of a young man raised by five irrepressible sisters in the County Donegal village of Ballybeg. Set in the 1930s amid the harvest festival of Lughnasa, the story confronts ideas of religion, progress, and family.

The cast features Teaching Artist-in-Residence E. Bruce Hill as Father Jack and seven students: Colleen Reilly as Kate, Meg Stiles as Chris, Gemma L. Crabtree as Rose, Lizzie Donaldson as Agnes, Stella Strange as Maggie, Joe McGranaghan as Michael, and Eric Burnett as Gerry.

Friel completed Dancing at Lughnasa in 1990. It premiered at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and quickly moved to London's West End. Shortly afterward, it reached Broadway, where it won three 1992 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Dancing at Lughnasa has been performed around the world, including national tours in Ireland, England, and Australia.

Tickets are $19 for general admission; $15 for seniors, groups, Pitt Alumni Association members, Pitt faculty, and staff; and $10 for students.

The Memory Speaks! lecture series continues from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in the Henry Heymann Theatre. Edward Casey, professor of philosophy at Stony Brook University, and Peter Machamer, professor of history and philosophy at Pitt, will present a lecture titled "Memory and Autobiography." Admission is free and a coffee reception will follow.

For information, call 412-624-PLAY (7529) or visit: www.pitt.edu/~play.

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3/28/06/tmw