Inside Iowa State

Sept. 21, 2007

ISU Theatre opens with comedy

ISU Theatre opens its 2007-08 season in early October with the satire We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! by Italian playwright, theater director and composer Dario Fo.

Fo's comedy, both written and set in 1970s Italy, is about a time when inflation was rampant, prices increased daily and the working classes were getting desperately hungry - for both food and a change in their situation. Housewives' tempers flare at the local grocery store and looting ensues. When the police begin a house-to-house search for the stolen food, Antonia enlists the aid of her best friend Margherita to hide the goods. They masquerade as pregnant women. The first lie is told to Antonia's factory worker husband Giovanni and events spiral out of control up to the final curtain.

Fo received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. His plays have been translated to 30 languages.

Theater faculty member Sarah Zwick-Tapley directs the play, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. Other 7:30 performances are on Oct. 6, 13 and 20. A 2 p.m. matinee will be performed on Sunday, Oct. 7. All performances are in Fisher Theater.

Seniors Mariana Seda and Kira Ashby play Antonia and Margherita, respectively. Sophomore Jeff Mason is Gioivanni, and junior Chris King is Luigi, Margherita's husband.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and $7 for students and children, and may be purchased at the Iowa State Center ticket office.

We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!

Fisher Theater

• Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 7, 2 p.m.
• Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.