Adelphi Presents “Uncommon Women and Others”

The Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) will be kicking off its 2012-2013 theatrical season with Wendy Wasserstein’s debut play Uncommon Women and Others. Directed by Department of Theatre Chair, Nicholas Petron, M.A. ’70 , the sho

Garden City, NY (I-Newswire) September 19, 2012 - The Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) will be kicking off its 2012-2013 theatrical season with Wendy Wasserstein’s debut play Uncommon Women and Others. Directed by Department of Theatre Chair, Nicholas Petron, M.A. ’70 , the show will be running from September 26 to September 30 in the Black Box Theater, Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave, Garden City, NY, 11530.

Set in the early 1970s at the height of second wave feminism, Uncommon Women and Others explores the lives of a group of Mount Holyoke College students, and how they deal with societal expectations presented to them upon facing graduation. Delving into themes such as the work force, politics, relationships and identity, the story is a mix of sentimental comedy and insightful social commentary. A Mount Holyoke alumna herself, Wendy Wasserstein based this play on her experiences as an undergraduate in college. It premiered in 1977 Off-Broadway starring Glenn Close and Swoosie Kurtz. With her work praised for its “ability to salve a little of that feeling of aloneness in her audiences with her deeply felt portraits of women…” by The New York Times, Wasserstein went on to publish 10 more plays in her career, winning both a Pulitzer and a Tony for her play The Heidi Chronicles.

Comprised of students in Adelphi’s B.F.A acting program, the cast is entirely female. Besides the task of creating relatable characters and life on stage, the women of the show also are required to fully research the time period of which Uncommon Women is set. Director Nicholas Petron has immense faith in the hard work his cast is doing throughout the rehearsal process. “The cast is really immersing themselves in what it was like to be alive in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” observes Petron. Exploring the era of the Women’s Liberation Movement has been enlightening for some of the cast both on and off stage. “It's an incredible experience working with all of these talented women and researching a time that our own mothers and grandmothers lived through,” comments cast member Aubrey Quinn ’14 “If anything, doing research for this play has brought me closer to the women in my family. They've shared stories and personal moments that I would not have otherwise known. The whole process has been an amazing learning experience.”

For information on purchasing tickets for Uncommon Women and Others contact the The Lucia and Steven N. Fischer Box Office at (516) 877-4000 or visit aupac.adelphi.edu