University of Wisconsin-Superior Theatre will present the all-alumni production of “The Octette Bridge Club” in the Manion Theatre. Performances, directed by UW-Superior alumna and current associate professor and director of theatre at The College of St. Scholastica Merry Vaughan, will take place Nov. 12, 13, 19, and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 14 and 21 at 2 p.m.
“Expect to laugh, maybe to cry,” said Vaughan. “It’s a true slice of life for these women, and they discuss everything from devil’s food cake to adultery to insanity. They are ‘good Irish Catholics’ who have all the normal ups and downs and infighting that all families have.”
Written by P.J. Barry, “The Octette Bridge Club,” follows eight sisters who meet to play bridge every other Friday evening. They have taken different paths in life, but their core family relationship bonds them together and we get to glimpse where those bonds have taken them during two different evenings in October 1934 and ten years later in October 1944.
“In the ten years that pass between Act I and Act II, WWII has begun, and their sons have been sent to war,” said Vaughan. “The sisters’ bonds are stretched and stressed in ways they could not have anticipated when we first meet them.”
For Vaughan, “The Octette Bridge Club” also represents a chance to reconnect with talented actors from the area.
“It has been a lot of fun,” she said. “We have cast members who attended UW-Superior in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Someone said between all the actors, they have over 100 years of acting experience. That’s pretty amazing. If you look at our collective experience, we have worked with every theatre company in the area.”
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and non-UW-Superior students, $5 for students with a valid UW-Superior ID and $5 for groups of 10 or more. Tickets may be purchased at the box office in the Holden Fine and Applied Arts Center at UW-Superior.
Reservations can be made at (715) 394-8380. If you need immediate assistance, please call the Department of Communicating Arts at (715) 394-8369. The Manion Theatre is in the Holden Fine and Applied Arts Center at 1805 Catlin Ave. in Superior.
