UST and CSC students present 'The Clean House' April 29-May 3
Student actors from the University of St. Thomas and the College of St. Catherine will perform an award-winning play by Sarah Ruhl, "The Clean House," at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, April 29-May 2, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3, in Frey Theater on the campus of the College of St. Catherine, 2004 Randolph Ave.
Tickets are $5 for general admission and free for students, faculty and staff with ID from the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Augsburg College, Macalester College and Hamline University). Seating is limited; reservations will be taken at The O'Shaughnessy Ticket Office at St. Catherine, (651) 690-6700. The office is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
"The Clean House" premiered to mixed reviews – some were glowing but other critics were puzzled – in 2004 at the Yale Repertory Theater. The whimsical romantic comedy centers on Mathilde, a Brazilian cleaning woman who would rather be a comedian. The play won the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded annually to the best English-language play written by a woman, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. By the end of 2006, Entertainment Weekly called the New York production one of the top 10 of the year.
Playwright Ruhl was born in 1974, studied at Brown University (A.B., 1997; M.F.A., 2001) and did graduate work at Pembroke College at Oxford University in England. She received a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship – one of the $500,000 awards commonly called "genius grants" given to a few dozen Americans each year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for exceptional merit and promise.
The cast of the UST-CSC production features St. Catherine students Carly Gubash (as Mathilde), Emily Hanson (Lane), Cassandra Schueller (Virginia) and Patricia Gjeerston (Ana). UST student Franklin Wagner plays the role of Charles.
Director is Mark Seamon, assistant professor of theater at St. Catherine. Greg Morrissey is scene and lighting designer; Carol Ann Winther is costumer; Troy Wilhelmson is sound designer and technical director; UST student Jesse Arch is stage manager. Assistant stage managers are Samantha Kunz (UST) and Ashley Steffen (CSC).
