Comedy ‘Babel’ Presented March 7-12 at UW

Jacqueline Goldfinger’s dark comedy “Babel” will be staged Tuesday-Sunday, March 7-12, in the University of Wyoming’s Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Studio Theatre. The production will be nightly at 7:30 p.m., except for the March 12 staging at 2 p.m.

UW’s Department of Theatre and Dance and Laramie-based theater company Relative Theatrics will present the Wyoming premiere of “Babel.”

Tickets are $16 for the public, $13 for senior citizens and $9 for students. To purchase tickets, visit the Performing Arts box office, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984. UW faculty and staff members, and military personnel can purchase tickets at a discounted rate. To receive the discount, visit the Performing Arts box office between noon-6 p.m. Monday-Friday or call (307) 766-6666.

The March 7 production is sold out.

Called by Broadway World “a fascinating, at times funny and, at times, terrifying vision of a future,” “Babel” follows two couples -- Renee and Dani, and Ann and Jamie -- who go to extreme lengths to have babies.

Set in the near future, the play paints the picture of a society in which pregnancies are regulated to reduce overpopulation and extend dwindling natural resources. But, when each couple faces the results of “precertifying” their embryos, things take a frighteningly complicated turn. Goldfinger’s comedy raises the specter of eugenics; explores the social value of children; and asks, “What are we willing to risk for love?”

Co-directed by UW faculty member Landee Lockhart and Anne Mason, Relative Theatrics artistic director, the play provides an opportunity to “foster a larger and more inclusive theatrical and artistic community locally and throughout Wyoming.”

“The collaboration has allowed both organizations to expand their artistic horizons, learn from each other and grow together while enriching the local arts community,” says Mason, a UW alumna.

Campus and community partners also have been invited to participate in meaningful ways to nurture future collaborations, including Wyoming Equality and UW’s Honors College.

Goldfinger, a playwright, librettist, poet and dramaturg from rural north Florida, has a love of music and storytelling. Goldfinger is an artist who seeks out unique collaborations, working across disciplines to create singular works of theater and opera.

Now in its 10th season, Relative Theatrics presents contemporary, thought-provoking theater that examines the joining qualities of the human race. Taking artistic risk, the organization provides an intimate community gathering space where thoughts can be exchanged about society, culture and the power of creativity.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.