Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department Presents 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane'

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly's Theatre and Dance Department will present Martin McDonagh's dark Irish comedy, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," Wednesday through Saturday, May 16-19, in the Spanos Theatre on campus.

The play, the final production in the Theatre and Dance Department's 2006-2007 season, will be staged at 8 p.m. on May 16-19, plus a matinee at 2 p.m. May 19.

Set in the rugged coast of western Ireland, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" is a chilling, savagely humorous depiction of a family's destruction, said Pamela Malkin, associate chair of the Theatre and Dance Department and director of the production. "Trapped in a rural cottage, an elderly mother and her spinster daughter engage in a dark duel of suspicion and hatred. When the daughter's last and only hope for escape presents itself, a terrifying and bleak confrontation ensues," Malkin said.

McDonagh wrote the play in 1996, when he was only 23 years old, earning international recognition for his work. Since then, McDonagh's works, including "The Cripple of Inishmore" and "The Pillowman," have had successful runs on both Broadway and London's West End.

McDonagh won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action) for his play
"Six Shooter."

Tim Dugan, the chair of the Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department, is the scenic designer for "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." Kathy Dugan, the costume designer, and Howard Gee, the technical director, are also on department staff.

Theatre arts major Lowell Olcott designed the lights. Guest artist David Nevell, a professional actor with many regional theater credits, served as dialect coach. Nevell teaches voice, movement and dialects in the Theatre and Dance Department at CSU Fullerton.

Cal Poly chemistry major Victoria Doroski plays "beauty queen" Maureen. Mag, Maureen's manipulative mother, is portrayed by theatre arts major Shawna Hood. Rounding out the cast are Duncan Calladine, a theatre arts major, as construction worker Pato, and Chase Mullins, a Cuesta College student, as Pato's younger brother, Ray.

Tickets are $10 for students and senior citizens and $12 for the general public. They are on sale at the Performing Arts Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call SLO- ARTS (756-2787).

For more information, contact Malkin at 756-6071.

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