NKU PRESENTS REGIONAL PREMEIRE OF ‘FAILURE: A LOVE STORY’
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Northern Kentucky University continues its 14|15 Theatre and Dance season with the regional premiere of FAILURE: A LOVE STORY by the “hugely talented Chicago writer” (Chicago Tribune) Philip Dawkins, November 20 – December 7.
With the very opening lines, we know the basic plot of this anything-but-predictable, “wildly charming” (Chicago Reader) and “fantastically macabre” (Huffington Post) new play set in 1920s Chicago: “Nelly was the first of the Fail Girls to die, followed soon after by her sisters, Jenny June and Gerty Fail, in that order. Causes of death were Blunt Object, Disappearance and Consumption, also in that order.” But before each young woman meets her untimely end, she finds love and happiness in this “lovely, bittersweet play” (Philadelphia Inquirer), in which “Dawkins approaches death with a quiet strength and gentle humor” (Chicago Now).
FAILURE: A LOVE STORY, which received its world premiere in 2012 at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theatre, is a magical, musical fable “full of emotional riches” (The Chicago Tribune) that traces the sisters’ triumphs and defeats, lived out in the rickety two-story building by the Chicago River that was the Fail family home and clock shop. This funny, moving and profoundly wise play reminds us that in the end, all that remains is love.
Director and NKU professor Corrie Danieley first learned of FAILURE when a friend from the Illinois Shakespeare Festival sent her the script. Danieley knew immediately why Illinois Shakes included it in their 2013 summer season. “The language has a fantastic rhythm to it… full of fun and quirky words. The show is epic and the themes are timeless: love, heartbreak, death, and the passage of time.” – all qualities that Danieley associated with the works of Shakespeare.
Danieley says the genre is magical realism “There are talking animals, talking clocks, time passes quickly and sometimes slowly, there is a memory scene that takes us back in time, and a chorus that speaks the narrative.” She likens the show to the movie Big Fish and the play Our Town; “Part fantastical, part real, part memory, part present – both tell epic stories that deal with matters of the heart.”
The play is music directed by NKU student Jacob Priddy, who has worked to find songs from the era of the play — 1920s Chicago — that support the atmosphere and help express mood.” A small, on-stage band provides the music: piano, string, percussion, and one velvety alto singer. “It’s a big part of the show,” says Danieley, “the music is not flashy or slick… it has poignant lyrics by Berlin and Porter with accompaniment that has a home-grown feel. [Musical Director Jacob Priddy] also wrote an original tune that is just fantastic.”
Danieley praises her talented cast of NKU students: “They come into rehearsal prepared and willing to think outside of the box. We all – every night – try something new. We take risks; some fail and others fly. To me, this is the magic of theatre… connecting with your partners, communing with our humanity, and choosing to be brave.” She hopes audiences will “try something new, experience a new story, and be open to the magic of theatre.”
WHAT
FAILURE: A LOVE STORY | Regional Premiere
WHO
Northern Kentucky University | Department of Theatre and Dance
By Philip Dawkins | Directed by Corrie Danieley
WHEN
November 20 – 23 and December 3 – 7, 2014
Wednesday – Saturday: 8pm | Sunday: 3pm
WHERE
NKU | Corbett Theatre | 100 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, KY 41099
Ticket prices
General Admission: $14 | Senior (60+): $11 | Student (with a valid ID): $8
For more information call the NKU Fine Arts Box Office at 859.572.5464 or go to Theatre.nku.edu
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