WASHINGTON, PA (Nov. 20, 2019) — Can a 90-minute musical comedy teach the entire history of western civilization? Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) student theatre is going to try with their production of Western Civilization! The Complete Musical.
W&J Associate Professor of Communications Karin Maresh, Ph.D. directs a troupe of 14 students as they perform this fast-paced comical history lesson.
Senior chemistry major and communication arts minor Andrew Cipriano ’20, who plays a caricature version of himself, was intrigued by the play’s concept.
“Once I saw the flyer and saw that Dr. Maresh was directing, I had to give it a go,” Andy said. “I did a lot of musicals in high school but hadn’t found the time to audition for any at W&J before now, so I’m excited to finally be on the stage.”
The production uses outlandish humor and phony accents to teach the audience a history lesson ranging from vaudeville all the way through modern contemporary theater renditions. Western Civilization! was originally written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
“We’ve had a lot of fun working on the show,” Andrew said. “I think the audience is going to really enjoy what we’ve put together.”
Western Civilization! is on stage at Olin Fine Arts Center from Nov. 21-23 at 7:30 p.m.
