Noël Coward's Hay Fever Opens on U of M Mainstage February 23

For release: February 12, 2010
For press information, contact Alice Berry (901) 678-3184

Hay Fever, by Noël Coward, opens on the U of M Mainstage on February 23 at 8 p.m. Additional shows are February 24 through 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $15. For ticket information, call the box office at (901) 678-2576. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 12:30-4 p.m.

With a Broadway revival of Present Laughter and Theatre Memphis’ production of Fallen Angels, it seems like Noël Coward is in the air this year. Written in 1925, Hay Fever is a comedy of bad manners deftly skewers the over-the-top Bliss family as they trade power plays, snobbish barbs and weekend companions. A weekend in the country proves a nightmare for the unsuspecting house guests of a most unusual and eccentric family of artists.

The Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of Hay Fever is directed by department chair Bob Hetherington. The cast features Sarah Brown, assistant professor of theatre, as hysterical matriarch Judith Bliss, as well as undergraduate students Shakiera Adams, Dylan Atkins, Emily Childers, Jason Gerhard, Daniel Mathews, Lauren Scott, Sean Christian Taylor and Katie Zisson.