Southeastern Theatre alumni join forces for production
Monday, June 17, 2019
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University Theatre Department alumni will return
home this summer for the collaborative production of “Moon Over Buffalo.” Scheduled
June 27 – 29 at Vonnie Borden Theatre, located in D Vickers Hall on Southeastern’s
campus, each performance will begin at 7.30 p.m.
Associate Professor of Acting and Directing Jim Winter will direct the comedy
play written by American playwright Ken Ludwig. Well-known for slapsticks and comedic
innuendos, Moon Over Buffalo is also famous for being the one play that successfully
tempted Carol Burnett back to the live stage after a 30-year absence from Broadway.
With a span of 25 years of Southeastern theatre alumni coming together to celebrate
their time at Southeastern, Winter described the production as a special and unique
event that may never happen again.
“Not only has this production been two years in the making, but the entire cast
and crew of Moon Over Buffalo, who are all Southeastern theatre alumni, have happily
agreed to participate in this unprecedented production for free,” Winter said. “This
whole production was spawned from the close ties we maintain with our alumni. They
always come back and support new generations in theatre. How amazing is it for a student
who graduated in the 90s to act along a student who graduated in 2015?”
Shane Stewart who plays the lead male role George said, “Working on this production
certainly reminded me of how much Hammond and Southeastern meant to me and helped
me as a theatre professional when I was young and just learning. It’s amazing the
amount of talent that has passed across the stage of Vonnie Borden, and it is a rare
occurrence to have this much talent in one place at one time.”
Moon over Buffalo centers on George and Charlotte Hay, down on their luck actors
of the 1950s, who have one final shot of reaching their dream, Winter explained. Unfortunately
for them, everything that could go wrong does, leading to side splitting hilarity
for the audience.
Cast in lead roles are Stewart of Greensburg as George and Kace Parker of Covington
as Charlotte. Additional cast members include Olivia Waguespack and Ben Norman of
Covington, Lindsey Ehricht of Hammond, Chelsea Krause of Gonzales, Trey Lagan of Ponchatoula,
Karista Filopoulous of Mandeville, and Jeff Polito of Lake Charles.
“If this production goes well, then we are hoping to make alumni shows annual,”
Winter said. “However, in order for this to happen, we need people to come and support
the first one.”
General Admission tickets are $20, while senior adults and student tickets are
$15. Tickets can be purchased from the Vonnie Borden Theatre box office, located in
the D Vickers Hall lobby, or online.
For more information, contact the Department of Visual Art + Design at 985-549-2193.
