Student Experience Menu ▾

Theatrical Performance Schedule

October 6 - 8

7:30 p.m.


October 8

2 p.m.


LEAD Event

45 Plays for 45 Presidents

By: Karen Weinberg, Chlöe Johnston, Andy Bayiates, Sean Benjamin, and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates

45 Plays for 45 Presidents is exactly what it sounds like, but every turn it takes is entirely unexpected. In each of these espresso shots of American history, a member of the flexible ensemble dons the star-spangled coat of the presidency and the group explores a surprising aspect of that administration. The short plays run on a spectrum from elections to impeachments, from personal stories to political battles, and from funny to tragic. Whether it’s a comedy roast of Thomas Jefferson, a nuanced monologue about social upheaval during the Johnson administration, or a mini-musical about George Bush Sr., you’re never going to know what’s coming next. A unique, thought-provoking, and wildly entertaining evening of theatre.

Dulany Auditorium

Parental guidance recommended. Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.

December 1 - 3

7:30 p.m.


December 3

2 p.m.


LEAD Event

Silent Sky

By: Lauren Gunderson

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.

Dulany Auditorium

Parental guidance recommended. Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc.

February 23 - 25

7:30 p.m.


February 25

2 p.m.


LEAD Event

These Shining Lives

By: Melanie Marnich

Narrated by one of the workers, Catherine Donohue, These Shining Lives shows women getting a chance for a well-paying job in the 1920s and early 1930s, which was uncharacteristic for the time in the United States. The job, which seems easy enough to the four main characters, is painting the hour markings onto different sized watch dials using a radium compound which glows in the dark. Radium Dial, the company that hires the women to do the painting, tells them that there is no evidence that radium is harmful, and even that it has health benefits. After a period of time, the workers notice that their hands start glowing in the dark, but assume that it is just from the radium powder that is used to paint the faces. The ladies then develop ailments, including jaw infections and bone pain. Several local doctors, including the company doctor, overlook the women’s concerns and prescribe aspirin, which of course does not help. In the end, they have to travel to the city (Chicago) to find a doctor who is willing to put his name on the line and diagnose the women with radium poisoning. This in turn helps the four main characters decide to file a lawsuit against Radium Dial. An attorney, Leonard J. Grossman, agrees to take the case for free, with Donohue as the lead plaintiff. Based on a true story!

Dulany Auditorium

Parental guidance recommended. Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc.

April 20 - 22

7:30 p.m.


April 22

2 p.m.


LEAD Event

The Sweet Delilah Swim Club

By: Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten

Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s lives. THE SWEET DELILAH SWIM CLUB focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years. And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives in the second act, these friends, proving the enduring power of “teamwork,” rally ‘round their own with the strength and love that takes this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction.

Dulany Auditorium

Parental guidance recommended. Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc.