News Article

Gonzaga University theatre arts will open its 2008-09 season with Sam Shepard’s modern American classic “Curse of the Starving Class,” which opens at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 24. The performance will be held in the newly remodeled and renamed Harry and Colleen Magnuson Theatre (formerly the Russell Theatre).

Tickets are $8 for all students, $12 for adults, $10 for Gonzaga faculty and staff, and can be reserved from the Magnuson Theatre Box Office at (509) 313-6553.

Harry Magnuson is a founding member of Gonzaga’s Board of Trustees, past chairman of the Board, and a current Trustee. Magnuson and wife generously donated $1million toward the renovation of this historic theater. 

Shepard’s black comedy tells the story of a blue-collar family trying furiously to escape the “curse” of alcohol, fate, lost hope, and disastrous economic judgments in their attempt to seize the so-called “American Dream.”

Directed by Rev. Kevin Connell, S.J., the principal for Gonzaga Prep, “Curse of the Starving Class” is filled with riotous laughs and poignant reminders of the state of home-ownership and other dreams in America today. The play finds resonance with the current downturn in the American economy fueled by the crisis in the subprime real estate market. CNN reports that more than 90,000 homes in the United States were foreclosed last month alone. Thisis a play filled with grim comic insight into the American family, aching for the elusive American Dream, bitter betrayals, and raucous laughs.

The play continues at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, 30, and Nov. 1, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 25 and Nov. 2.

For more information, contact marketing coordinator Summer Berry at (509) 313-3606 or via e-mail. For ticket inquiries call the box office at (509) 313- 6553.