Department of Theatre and Dance to Present Student Production of "Playboy of the Western World"

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Department of Theatre and Dance will present a student production of "Playboy of the Western World" on Nov. 12-16 in the Black Box Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. Media sponsor for this production is WBFO FM 88.7.

Show times for the production, which is directed by Vincent O'Neill, will be 8 p.m. Nov. 12-14, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Nov. 15 and 2 p.m. Nov. 16.

"Playboy of the Western World," by Irish poet-playwright John Millington Synge (1871-1909), is a wild, farcical and poetic play about reputation, the fickle nature of celebrity, and lost opportunity. In a remote public house in Western Ireland, Christy Mahon becomes a local hero when he first confesses and then starts boasting how he just murdered his father by clobbering him on the head with a shovel. This hilarious indictment of our propensity for romanticizing rogues and villains continues to resonate in an era when rappers must be "gangstas" in order to be "authentic," and Synge rings endless variations on the theme.

When it first was produced in 1907, "Playboy of the Western World" sent shock waves through the dramatic world, pushing the limits of decency and stoking an already red-hot nationalistic fire. Though met with near instant rioting and controversy, it now is considered a masterpiece of poetic drama.

Tickets for "Playboy of the Western World" are $15 for the general public and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a TicketFast location.