KEARNEY – It’s 1950 and new colors are being added to the Red Scare.
Bob and Norma, two U.S. State Department employees, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: both Bob and Norma are gay and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover.
Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, Topher Payne’s “Perfect Arrangement” combines sitcom-style comedy with provocative drama to deliver a message that remains relevant today.
University Theatre at Kearney will present the play this week at the Studio Theatre inside the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Fine Arts Building. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Directed by UNK student Nathan S. Hayes, a junior from Lincoln, the show runs approximately two hours, including a 10-minute intermission. It contains intimate scenes and the use of homophobic language indicative of the time. The cast includes UNK students Finnegan Denson, Brianna Linden, Lainey Schmeits, Lilly Skaggs, Keegan Spence, Wagon Spicka and Isabelle Stroot.
A post-show discussion is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Thursday with UNK associate professor of sociology Sandra Loughrin and assistant history professor Nathan Tye.
General admission tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for non-UNK students and seniors; $7 per person for groups of 10 or more; and free for UNK students with a valid ID. The UNK Theatre Box Office is open 12:30 to 5 p.m. weekdays and one hour prior to each performance. All ticket purchases are payable by cash or check only. For reservations, call 308-865-8417 or email boxoffice@unk.edu.
Cast (listed by hometown)
Broken Bow – Finnegan Denson (Bob Martindale)
Cairo – Brianna Linden (Norma Baxter)
Hastings – Isabelle Stroot (Barbara Grant)
Kearney – Lainey Schmeits (Millie Martindale)
Omaha – Keegan Spence (Theodore Sunderson)
Rockville – Lilly Skaggs (Kitty Sunderson)
Wahoo – Wagon Spicka (Jim Baxter)
Student Artistic and Production Staff
Kearney – Laura Rozema (properties master)
Kearney – Lainey Schmeits (dramaturg)
Kearney – Jacob Obrecht (sound designer)
Lincoln – Nathan S. Hayes (director)
Lincoln – Samm O’Connor (costume designer)
North Platte – Alex Ladely (assistant stage manager)
North Platte – Joseph Roeder (assistant stage manager)
Papillion – Makayla Strosnider (stage manager)
Faculty/Staff Artistic Team
Darin Himmerich, scenic designer
Andrew Brackett, lighting designer
PHOTOS BY ERIKA PRITCHARD, UNK COMMUNICATIONS
