Theatre department presenting “Defying Gravity”

Cornell College will present “Defying Gravity,” a play about art, religion and the outer limit of human possibilities on April 20-21 and  27-29 in Kimmel Theatre.

“Defying Gravity,” written by Jane Anderson and directed by Jody Hovland, distinguished artist-in-residence at Cornell and founder and artistic director at Riverside Theatre, contains musings about art, religion and the outer limits of human possibility.  The play finds connections between disparate people and ideas. What all of them share, or come to share, is a desire to taste the unknown, a willingness to slip the bonds of gravity and catapult themselves into the void.

Since the play remembers the Challenger explosion—and the death of seven astronauts, including teacher Christa McAuliffe—20 years later, you might expect it to be sad, but it’s not. McAuliffe’s now 25-year old daughter, Elizabeth—the narrator of the events—reconciles the explosion of the Challenger with the “birth of a galaxy”— her mother is not lost, but part of something much bigger.

Jody Hovland said, “The play is provocative, funny, moving, and, I think, inspiring. The tension comes with the piece by piece revelation of how this known tragedy might have occurred—those most human of errors in a system that was supposed to be controllable. And it comes with our own grappling of what it means to go after the unknown, whether reaching past our “limits” or dying. And in the end connections are made between those unlikely pairings.”

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 20, 21, 27 and 28 and at 2 p.m. on April 29. For tickets call (319) 895-4293 or email boxoffice@cornellcollege.edu.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 senior citizens, students and children. Tickets are free for Cornell students, faculty and staff .

The cast:

Teacher: Senior Kayla Prestel

Elizabeth: Sophomore Kaitie Saxe

Monet: Junior Mack Urbanowicz

Betty: Junior Rachel Tornquist

Ed: Sophomore Nolan Breard

Donna: Junior Mallory Fran deForest

C.B.: Sophomore Zachary Nelson

 

The crew:

Stage Manager: Junior Jordan Welch
Assistant Director: Senior Adeara Jean Maurice

Guest scenic and lighting designer: Courtney Schmitz Watson

Costume designer: Senior Susan Long

Hair and makeup designer: Senior Christine Exe