Jan. 18, 2022

Contact Teddy Eck at 608-796-3766 or tjeck@viterbo.edu

VITERBO UNIVERSITY CONSERVATORY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS TO PRESENT EVERYBODYJAN. 28–30, FEB. 4–5

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Explore the meaning of life with the cast of the Viterbo University Conservatory for the Performing Arts production of the introspective dramatic comedy Everybody Friday, Jan. 28–Sunday, Jan. 30 and Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5 in the Fine Arts Center LaCroix Black Box Theatre.

“Everybody will make you think—about life, about death, and about what we do with our lives in between,” said Viterbo theatre faculty member Teddy Eck, who is directing the production. “The play takes the audience on quite a journey within the storytelling parameters of the show.”

A modern take on the 15th Century morality play Everyman, Everybody is written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who a New York Times reviewer described as “one of the country’s most original and illuminating writers.” His reframing of this classic piece is told in the same manner as the original, using allegorical characters to examine the question of existence and what a person must do to attain peace with the fact that they are dying. The story is also told with a great sense of humor. Everybody was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize.

In an added twist, the actors’ roles will be decided by lottery during each show, making each performance unique and furthering the idea that audience members could be any of the characters in the production at different points in their lives. The Viterbo production of Everybody is an extension of the fall semester production collaborative theatre class.

“I am very impressed with the students in the Conservatory,” Eck said. “They of course had to be very talented to be accepted, but they are also doing what it takes to become better artists, by constantly creating and challenging themselves. Everyone who is a part of the production has had input.”

The production includes the use of profanity and is recommended for audience members age 13 and older.

Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28–29 and Feb. 4–5 and 2 p.m. Jan. 30. Tickets are $16 plus taxes and fees for general admission seating. Masks are required to be worn in all indoor public spaces on the Viterbo campus. For more information or to order tickets, contact the Viterbo box office at 608-796-3100 or visit www.viterbo.edu/tickets.

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