The Newman theater department will bring back to the stage a drama by one of its most popular playwrights with its production of “Sweet Bird of Youth” by Tennessee Williams March 5–8 .
The 1959 drama premiered on Broadway and ran for a year before it was nominated for three Tony Awards. It starred Paul Newman and Geraldine Page, who later did a 1962 film rendition of the play. Now, Newman students are tackling the roles.
Junior Steven Brown, who’s double-majoring in theater and theology, will play the role of Chance Wayne, and first-year student and nursing major Danielle Brown will play the role of Princess Kosmonopolis.
“At auditions, they fit the roles the best,” said Mark Mannette, professor and director of theater. “They are both dedicated to learning these sizable and challenging roles.”
Steven Brown is no stranger to acting in Newman plays, with roles such as Horatio in “Hamlet,” Reginald in “Murder on the Menu” and Tom in “Tom, Dick and Harry.”
“From my freshman year to now, I have been in every play Newman has done,” he said. “This role is unlike any other role I have played before. I have more emotions and vulnerabilities to work on.”
Newman produced another of Tennessee Williams’ plays “The Glass Menagerie,” in 2017, which has become one of Newman’s most-watched videos on YouTube with more than 216,000 views.
Themes and plot
In “Sweet Bird of Youth,” Wayne is a failed actor who has resorted to becoming a manipulative gigolo to advance his career. He returns to his hometown with faded Hollywood actress Princess Kosmonopolis, where he desperately attempts to rekindle his youth through his childhood sweetheart, Heavenly Finley, played by education major Abi Oberley.
“The play explores mature themes,” Mannette said. “The very human characters struggle against their fading youth and desires for fame and continued glory.”
Also among the cast is another returning face in Newman’s theater program, sophomore Luke Jones, playing the role of Boss Finley.
“He’s very different from my other roles. Boss Finley doesn’t show up a lot in the play, but when he does, he has a presence to his scenes,” Jones said.
Remaining ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’ cast:
Nathan Atwell as George Scudder
Daniel Graber as Tom Junior
Catherine Vessey as Miss Lucy
Ethan Mowery as Hatcher
Gwyn Sutton as Stuff
John Suffield as Bud
Joseph Kiley as Scotty
Hadassah Suffield as Violet
Kayla Parrish as Edna
Kelly Morgan as Fly
Performance dates
The production, staged in the Performance Hall in the DeMattias Fine Arts, has a start time of 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, March 5–7, with doors opening at 7. On Sunday, March 8, the performance starts at 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $5 for students (college age and below). Newman students get in free with their student I.D.
Get tickets to ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’ at Newman
On average, Newman performs two plays, one musical and a spring variety show every year.
