TAMU-C Theater Department
Presents the Classic "A Wrinkle in Time"

 

From Dr. Jim Anderson

 

The University Playhouse presents limited run of A Wrinkle in Time, adapted for the stage by James Sie from the classic novel for young readers by Madeleine L’Engle.  Community performances are two days only:  Saturday, November 17, at 6:00 PM and Sunday, November 18, at 3:00, following sold out matinees for school groups November 14-16. University Playhouse Box Office staff recommend early reservations due to high demand. For reservations and further information, call 903-886-5900, or e-mail playhouseboxoffice@cp.tamuc.edu

 

 

 

 

The Director of A Wrinkle in Time, Dr. Carrie Klypchak, was asked about how the magical elements of the story will translate to the stage. She said, “The designers and the cast are collaborating on ways to do the impossible. There will, of course be many special effects, but we are also embracing the sheer theatricality of the script. There is magic in that, too. It translates very well.” She also said that this is the first university production of James Sie’s adaptation anywhere, and that it has previously been produced at the Lincoln Center. Dr. Klypchak was recently named University Theatre Educator of the Year by the Texas Educational Theatre Association, and will be so honored at the TETA meeting in January.

 

 

 

 

The story begins on a “dark and stormy night.” Our hero, Meg, cannot sleep, so she, her brother, Charles Wallace and their beautiful scientist mother share a cup of hot chocolate, when a storm-tossed Mrs Whatsit drops in, and the science fiction fantasy adventure for all time begins. Meg, Charles Wallace and their friend, Calvin are hurled through time and space to rescue Meg’s father, who vanished mysteriously while working on a secret science project for the government, and is being held prisoner on a dark planet.

             

The book, upon which our play is based, won the Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1963. The manuscript was turned downed by several publishers before it was published in 1962. It was then considered somewhat controversial for there to be a female protagonist in a pitched battle between Good and Evil. Readers since then have loved this rollicking adventure for fifty years.

Our production of A Wrinkle in Time will be enjoyed most by children ages eight and up. And, of course, all of us who remember it from our own youth will love it too.

 

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