The Tufts drama season is warming up, beginning with next week's "Untitled by Jack." But, if the mood strikes you to venture off campus to see a show, the Daily has compiled a list of productions at other Boston-area schools this semester.
The positives of going to events at other universities are numerous. First, you can impress high school friends who now go to school nearby by knowing more about their on-campus events than they do. Perhaps more rewarding, when relatives at Thanksgiving ask if you get into Boston much, you can emphatically answer in the affirmative.
MIT
T stop: Kendall, Red line
The MIT Musical Theater Guild deliciously plays into their college's stereotype by presenting "The Star Wars Trilogy: Musical Edition." The production is based on the series' originals - Episodes IV, V, and VI - and uses parodies of Broadway and Disney songs to tell a story of hope, comedy and 'droids. One thing's for certain: this play will send you into hyperspace, unless you get frozen in carbonite on your way to the theater. In which case, you should hope that your girlfriend, masked as a bounty hunter, comes to rescue you. You're a [Death] star now, baby.
Running dates: "Star Wars Trilogy: Musical Edition" directed by Rogue Shindler, Nov. 11-13 and 16-20.
Harvard University
T stop: Harvard, Red line
In an onslaught of extremely short title names, the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club has chosen to perform two one-word plays this fall. First up is Franz Wedekind's "Lulu." In 1929, it was made into the film "Pandora's Box," a cheery story about a prostitute/dancer who ends up being killed by Jack the Ripper. Continuing in the holiday spirit is Tony Kushner's "Slavs," an exploration of life and socialism in the Soviet Union during the Perestroika days.
Running dates: "Lulu" directed by Brendan Hughes, October 21 through 29, and "Slavs" directed by Aoife Spillane-Hinks, Nov. 11-19.
Boston University
T stop: Pleasant Street, Green line
As one of the behemoth Boston colleges, BU can offer quite the variety of performance options. One of their more interesting programs is the Boston Playwrights' Theatre, which performs alumni-written works. This fall's play, "The Red Lion" by R. Bradley Smith is about Mike's Pub ("the one constant amid the fast-encroaching hamburger franchises") and the owner's decision to sell the bar - an interesting choice for a theater whose entrance is located in a pedestrian alley between a Store 24 and a McDonald's.
Running dates: "The Red Lion" directed by Lenny Leibowitz, Oct.13-23.
Emerson College
T stop: Boylston, Green line
Emerson Stage puts on William Finn's "A New Brain" this fall, following in the footsteps of Tufts' own Torn Ticket II and MIT before them. The musical explores territory typically reserved for hour-long hospital dramas when its main character discovers that he has a life-threatening brain tumor.
Running dates: "A New Brain" directed by Stephen Terrell, Oct. 27-29.
Wellesley College
T stop: Woodland, D Green line, then take a taxi
Not surprisingly, the fall line-up for Boston's preeminent women's college is pretty heavy on the X chromosomes. "Travels With My Aunt" is an adaptation of a Graham Greene novel about narrator Henry Pulling's road trip hijinks with his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta; "Trojan Women" is considerably less whimsical, telling the story of postwar life for the women of Troy.
Running dates: "Travels with my Aunt," directed by Christina Molldrem, October 21 through 24, and Euripides' "Trojan Women," directed by Nora Hussey, Nov. 11-14.
Boston College
T stop: Boston College, B Green line
Anyone thinking of bringing their new girlfriend home for the holidays will reconsider after seeing B.C.'s production of Wendy McLeod's "The House of Yes," a play about college boys and the Jackie O-obsessed sisters who incestuously love them. "Sylvia," by A.R. Gurney is about another unorthodox romantic relationship: a man, his wife and the dog who steals his heart.
Running dates: "The House of Yes" directed by Foster Johns, Oct. 21-23, and "Sylvia" directed by Stephanie Marquis, Oct. 28-30.
