Lobby Hero Performance Dates and Times Thursday, February 1 & 8, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 2 & 9, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 3 & 10, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.

(From Left to Right) Kenny Konaszewski as “Bill,” Christopher L. Tucker as “William,” Jeremy Kucharek as “Jeff,” and Kristen Pickthall as “Dawn.”

(From Left to Right) Kenny Konaszewski as “Bill,” Jeremy Kucharek as “Jeff,” and Kristen Pickthall as “Dawn.” ALL PHOTOS BY JOE KVORIAK

Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan

The Wayne State University Department of Theatre’s Ph.D. Directors’ Series continues its 06-07 season with Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan at the Studio Theatre (located downstairs from the Hilberry Theatre on the corner of Cass and Hancock) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 1, 2007. Lobby Hero runs February 1 - 10, 2007.

Jeff spends his nights sitting at the front desk of a lobby in a high-rise apartment building. As the night security guard, he is harassed by his boss, William, for “not having it together.” Jeff doesn’t have the job he wants and he doesn’t even have his own apartment, but he does have a crush on a local female police officer who often stops in on his shift. After William divulges a potentially shattering secret regarding his brother’s pending arrest, Jeff is faced with a moral dilemma concerning the law, duty, reliability and hormones. This entertaining comedy puts the most unlikely of people in the position to become a hero.

The Studio Theatre is an intimate, 110-seat “blackbox” theatre. “Blackbox” theatres, which were made popular during the 1960s and 1970s, are generally smaller, simpler stages built to focus more on the human aspect of intimate storytelling and are considered by some to be a more “pure” form of theatre than you may see on a Broadway stage. Due to the limited seating, tickets will sell fast; however, every seat in the theatre puts you right in the face of the comedy and drama of the show, with no seat further away from the stage than four rows.

Directed by Ph.D. candidate Matt Foss, the cast includes: junior Jeremy Kucharek (Roseville, MI) as “Jeff,” freshman Christopher L. Tucker (Detroit, MI) as “William,” senior Kenny Konaszewski (Hamtramck, MI) as “Bill,” and senior Kristen Pickthall (Tecumseh, Ontario) as “Dawn.” Designers for Lobby Hero include senior Cory Johnson (Grosse Pointe Park, MI) as scenic designer, sophomore Leah Karper (Carlisle, PA) as costume designer, freshman Bobby Tacoma (Livonia, MI) as lighting designer, and sophomore Heather DeFauw (Fraser, MI) as sound designer.

Ticket prices range from $8 - $10. Discount tickets are available to all students, senior citizens aged 62 and up and WSU faculty, staff and Alumni Association members. For tickets and further information, please call (313) 577-2972 or visit the Wayne State University box office at 4743 Cass on the corner of Cass and Hancock. Performance information may also be obtained by visiting the company’s website at www.theatre.wayne.edu.  




COMING SOON TO THE STUDIO THEATRE:
Louise Heck-Rabi Scholarship Playwriting Competition March 22 - 24 & 29 -31, 2007. Admission is Free!