In a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, the swaggering, carefree carnival barker, Billy Bigelow, captivates and marries young millworker Julie Jordan. Billy loses his job just as he learns that Julie is pregnant and, desperately intent upon providing a decent life for his family, he is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught in the act and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent to heaven. Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day 15 years later, and he encounters the daughter he never knew. She is a lonely, friendless teenager, her father's reputation as a thief and bully having haunted her throughout her young life. How Billy instills in both the child and her mother a sense of hope and dignity is a dramatic testimony to the power of love.
"The students have engaged with the material in a remarkable way. Their scripts are covered in annotations; they are digging deeply into these characters and looking for the essential human truths,” said director Megan Hoover. “They have done a remarkable job uncovering the humanity of these characters and handling the weight of the material, showing incredible maturity and a sense of responsibility. In many ways, this show generates more questions about life and love than it does answers. The cast has come to understand that these characters’ imperfections are what make them truthful, and they are committed to representing them as such."
The cast includes Fairfield Prep students and young women from Lauralton Hall, Sacred Heart Academy of Hamden and Fairfield Warde. The music director is Christine Evans.
Tickets can be ordered by calling the Quick Center box office at 203-254-4010.
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