“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to end ECU SCREENS Season

To wrap up its spring season, ECU SCREENS is presenting a recorded-live production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Friday, May 4, at 6:30 pm in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center.

This new production of Edward Albee’s emotionally charged drama, recorded live at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, stars Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter) and Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones) as Martha and George.

In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professor and his wife to their home for some after-party drinks. As the alcohol flows and dawn approaches, the young couple is drawn into George and Martha’s toxic games until the evening reaches its climax in a moment of devastating truth-telling.

The New York Times describes this new production as “the most searing London account of Edward Albee’s 1962 theatrical landmark” and says “the audience hangs on both sparring partners’ every breath.” The Guardian exclaims “This is one of those rare occasions when play, performance and production perfectly coalesce” and points out the play’s exploration of “the slipping between truth and illusion.” According to The Independent, it is the “most high-energy and the funniest version” of Albee’s classic.

General admission tickets are $10. Admission is $5 for ECU students. Tickets may be purchased at the door. This presentation is for mature audiences. Running time is three hours.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is presented by ECU SCREENS, whose mission is to bring memorable cinematic experiences to ECU, Ada, and the surrounding communities. ECU SCREENS is supported by the ECU Foundation, the Cultural Activities Committee, and the Department of English and Languages, and it relies on work provided by student volunteers from Sigma Tau Delta (ECU’s English Honors Society) and ECU’s Honors Student Association.

To learn more about ECU SCREENS and the spring schedule, like the ECU SCREENS Facebook page or visit ecuscreens.blogspot.com. Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, may be contacted at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.

ECU Showtime Sings for Your Supper

ECU SCREENS and ECU Showtime are collaborating to provide the community with an evening of feasting and song on Saturday, April 28th in the Bill S. Cole University Center. At 6 pm, ticket holders will be served a dinner featuring their choice of chicken fried steak or baked chicken, while ECU’s most talented singers perform favorite show tunes ranging from Beauty and the Beast’s “Be Our Guest” to a medley from the recent film musical sensation The Greatest Showman. Other musical highlights will include ensemble, solo, and duet performances from Annie, Dear Even Hansen, The Book of Mormon, Dream Girls, The Wizard of Oz, Something Rotten, Mamma Mia, Dog Fight and The Phantom of the Opera.

After dessert, diners will be escorted to the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center for ECU SCREENS’s latest presentation: a recorded live presentation of the legendary musical Follies, by Academy-, Tony-, Grammy, and Olivier-Award winning composer and lyricist Steven Sondheim (Sweeney Todd; Into the Woods).

Staged for the first time at London’s National Theatre, this dazzling new production of Follies features an orchestra of 21 and a cast of 37, starring Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films).

Follies is set in New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre the day before the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.

The musical earned 5-star reviews from The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, Observer, Time Out, Independent, Financial Times, Mail on Sunday, Metro, and The Stage, and on April 8th, it won the 2018 Olivier for Best Musical Revival, Britain’s most prestigious award for excellence in professional theatre.

The New York Times review of the production raves, “One listens in wonder. The score is so rich that no sooner has a certain number registered as a favorite, another comes along to supersede it.” “It’s a case of knockout after knockout,” according to The Independent. “The hairs on the back of my neck were begging for mercy for they got barely a moment’s peace.” Time Out summarizes its review this way: “Follies is an elegiac, eloquent work about age and disappointment, about the agonizing clash between the fires of youth and the pragmatism of late middle age. It is about illusion and reality, razzle-dazzle and darkness. And it pierces both heart and brain in Dominic Cooke’s towering revival.”

Running time for Follies is 150 minutes and the production includes strobe lighting.

Tickets to “We’ll Sing for Your Supper” are $25, and they include dinner and admission to Follies. Tickets may be purchased online at alumni.ecok.edu/event/ecuscreens.

Ticket must be purchased by Thursday, April 19th

 All profits from ticket sales will be donated to ECU Showtime, whose current members include: Kashaun Barber (Stratford), Keegan Buckaloo (Sallisaw), Annabelle Elliott (Ada), Nicole Erwin (Ada), Megan Green (Pauls Valley), Deborah Johnson (Nassau City, Bahamas), Zana Johnson (Kinta), Kaci Kennedy (Ardmore), Cassidy Malm (Noble), Ashton Mayle (Eufala), Philip Newcomer (Ada), Juan Oseguera (Ada), Taylo Packwood (Shawnee), Eddie Power (Byng), Isabella Roan (Garland, Texas), Malik Sharp (Shawnee), Zach Smith (Tulsa), Bessie-Mei Soh (Singapore), Shelby Stinson (Poteau), Katherine Wallace (Little Axe), and Jace Westmoland (Byng).

General admission to Follies is $10, and admission is $5 for ECU students. These tickets may be bought at the door on the night of the performance.

Follies is presented by ECU SCREENS, whose mission is to bring memorable cinematic experiences to ECU, Ada, and the surrounding communities. ECU SCREENS is supported by the ECU Foundation, the Cultural Activities Committee, and the Department of English and Languages, and it relies on work provided by student volunteers from Sigma Tau Delta (ECU’s English Honors Society) and ECU’s Honors Student Association.

To learn more about ECU SCREENS and the spring schedule, like the ECU SCREENS Facebook page or visit ecuscreens.blogspot.com. Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, may be contacted at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.