PNC Theatre to Stage Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 1”

PNC-HenryIVPNC Theatre and the PNC Players of Purdue University North Central will present a production of William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1" at the Mainstreet Theatre in Michigan City.

The public is invited to the performances at the Mainstreet Theatre, 807 Franklin St., on opening night Saturday April 14, at 8 p.m.; Sunday April 15, at 3 p.m.; Friday April 20 at 8 p.m. and Saturday April 21 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students presenting a valid student ID.

The production is directed by Dr. Paul Hecht, PNC assistant professor of English. On Sunday, April 15, Hecht will present a pre-show talk in the theatre upper lobby at 2 p.m. to give an overview of the play and to discuss Shakespeare and his writing.

The play presents an irreverent history lesson from the most outrageously irreverent of Shakespeare's plays about English history. It is a madly inclusive play, a whirlwind tour of England from the king's court to the raucous nightlife in the Boar's Head tavern and further to the working poor and dregs of English society, trying to feed and clothe themselves and stay alive. In this story of a king on the ropes, surrounded by charismatic rebels from north and west -Scotland and Wales - and worried sick about his ne'er-do-well son, how is it that a comic figure, the larger-than-life Sir Jack Falstaff, manages almost completely to take over the action?

The PNC production takes the question seriously and subjects everything to Falstaff's satirical and critical eye: is royalty and politics anything more than elaborate theater? Is there anything "essential" to a king or prince be fit to wear the crown? How does one find honor in the mayhem of war and of civil war in particular? Pursuit of honor leads people to astounding feats of courage, but it also leads them to mass graves, to meaningless, random death. This play tries hard, at one level, to tell of the heroic coming of age of the man who would be England's great hero-king, Henry V. But Falstaff keeps asking uncomfortable questions, joking around when he should be serious and his wit infects the play to its core.

Song, dance, aggressive gender cross-casting, rock and roll, and the clash of authentic longswords ensure the PNC production takes the most entertaining, most provocative components of this play as far as possible. A cast of 19 fill Mainstreet's intimate theater space with youthful energy.


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The PNC Players are Aram Arden, La Porte; Karen Arden, La Porte; Suzanne Bartholomew, Michigan City; Aaron Collings, La Porte; Jason Curtis, Valparaiso; Jeremy Harris, Michigan City; Cassandra Heric, Michigan City; Hilary Jordan, Valparaiso; Assen Kokalov, Chicago; Ryan Leonard, New Buffalo; Alyssa Moskwa, Valparaiso; Brittany Nowatzke, La Porte; Olga Pecanac, Westville; Diane Rich, La Porte; Justin Sech, Kouts; Tara Sibo, La Crosse; Iris Thacker, Michigan City; Holly Trott, La Porte; Teresa West, La Porte. The crew members are Karen Arden, LaPorte; Aaron Garrett, Michigan City; Denise Curtis, Valparaiso; Sara Sech, Kouts; Charles Trott, La Porte, Camille Turner, Michigan City.

The production will again feature music composed and performed by Chicago area composer Rob Clearfield, as well as dance choreography by Ariane Dolan, faculty member of Chicago's Lou Conte Dance Studio and a veteran of innumerable regional and national musical theatre shows

Tickets may be purchased from the Mainstreet Theatre of Michigan City. More information is available at http://www.pncedu/engl/theatre. To obtain further information or reserve tickets contact the theatre at 219-874-4269 or email phecht@pnc.edu. Tickets not sold in advance will be available at the door.

Photo: From left to right: Teresa West, Ryan Leonard, Brittany Nowatzke, Jeremy Harris (kneeling), Holly Trott, Aaron Collings, Alyssa Moskwa, Suzie Bartholomew, Cassandra Heric, Olga Pecanac, Assen Kokalov, Hilary Jordan, Justin Sech, Aram Arden, Jason Curtis, Karen Arden.