Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 414/832-6590
For Immediate Release					February 21, 1997
 
Lawrence University Theatre Department Stages Contemporary/Classic Double Bill
  
 
APPLETON, WIS.-- A seldom-performed, tragicomedy by one of America's most
celebrated playwrights in a traditional proscenium or an updated sequel to a 
contemporary musical in an intimate setting.  Theatre-goers will have their 
choice of dramatic fares when the Lawrence University theatre department
presents a rare double bill the first week of March.

Tennessee Williams', "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur," will be staged in
Lawrence's Stansbury Theatre beginning Wednesday, March 5, with additional
performances Friday and Saturday, March 7-8.  Each show begins at 8 p.m.

Three performances of the musical revue, "A...My Name is Still Alice," will be
held Thursday and Friday, March 6-7 at 8:30 p.m. in Cloak Theatre of the
Lawrence Music-Drama Center.  A Sunday matinee is scheduled March 9 at 2 p.m.

"The week will certainly be a series of contrasts," said Fred Gaines, chair of
Lawrence's theatre-drama department.  "Doing a modern piece and mixing it with
something a little obscure from an American classic like Tennessee Williams,
we're obviously giving the audience a wide variety of choices.  Each show will
stimulate its audience in a completely different way." 

Resurrecting one of the last -- and perhaps most neglecte --d plays  written by
Williams during his legendary career, "A Lovely Sunday for Creve  Coeur,"
offers a bittersweet version of some of the playwright's more classic 
concerns.  Set in a St. Louis apartment during the Depression, it looks at fou
women struggling to live life without men.  

"Williams treats his typical themes with a lightness in this piece that you
don't find in his earlier work," said veteran director Mark Dintenfass, who is
working on a Tennessee Williams production for the first time.  "Things are
characteristically bleak here, but with a certain amount of humor."

"A...My Name is Still Alice" is a 1990s version of the earlier comedy, "A...My
Name is Alice."  The ensemble-written piece features an all-woman cast. 
Through songs, short scenes and a few brief monologues, the play offers a
comedic, and often satirical, look at contemporary women's issues, including
glass ceilings, the consequences of one-nights stands and growing older.  The
play is directed by Lawrence student Heather Beckett as her senior theatre
project.

Admission for "A...My Name is Still Alice" is $1 at the door.

Tickets for "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur," at $8 for adults, $4 for
students, are available at the Lawrence Box Office, Brokaw Hall, 115 S. Drew
St., Appleton, 12:30-5:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday.  For more information, or to
charge tickets to Visa/Mastercard, call 414/832-6749.