An entertaining history

Past Productions

An entertaining history

Quinnipiac Theater has a proud tradition of presenting dynamic and diverse performances that engage and inspire audiences. Our past productions showcase the remarkable creativity and talent of our students, who bring a wide range of stories to life on stage. Our team includes talented actors, stagehands, writers, producers, directors, set designers, lighting and sound technicians, as well as costume and makeup artists. Each performance reflects our dedication to fostering artistic expression and excellence in the performing arts.

‘The Seagull’

By Anton Chekhov
Translation by Paul Schmidt
Directed by Sammy Zeisel

In this fiercely contemporary production, a troupe of college students performs The Seagull. They fall in love, break each other’s hearts, and find their voices. Along the way, some cultivate the strength to survive in a dispiriting world while others fall between the cracks.

Infused with indie rock and irreverent make-believe, this reimagined version will examine what it means to be young in a polarized, image-obsessed society in which ambition and celebrity are fetishized with often deadly costs to young people. The year is 1895 and 2025: the kids are not alright.

Quinnipiac Theater students acting during a live production.

Quinnipiac Theater students acting out a discussion during a live production.

A Quinnipiac Theater student holds his head in his hands while acting out a live performance.

‘Professor Woland's Black Magic Rock Show’

Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova
Music by Michael Pemberton
Lyrics by Michael and Andrea Pemberton
Book by Elizabeth Dinkova and Jesse Rasmussen

A rock musical based on Mikhail Bulgakov’s banned classic The Master and Margarita, Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show takes inspiration from the courageous resistance of dissident artists like Pussy Riot to explore the potency and peril of speaking truth to power, the relationship between good and evil, and the freedom of the spirit in an unfree world.

‘Professor Woland's Black Magic Rock Show’ set for D.C. debut

Natalie Young, ’27, rehearses her role in “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show”

Harry Rosenay, ’27, and Natalie Young, ’27, rehearses “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show”

Harry Rosenay, ’27, rehearses his role in “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show”

‘Friend Animals’

By Marella Martin Koch
Directed by Timothy Koch

Despite their identical holy gowns, three friends harbor secret, rebellious dreams: Karen Marie Katharine is on a mission to lose her virginity; Laura Mary hopes to birth the next messiah; and Alex Chloe fantasizes about tequila and atheism. Why do we hate ourselves and try to destroy one another?

Three Quinnipiac Theater students in character during a production.

Quinnipiac Theater students pose for a photo on stage.

Quinnipiac actors and actresses seated at a formal dinner during the Friend Animals production.

A Quinnipiac Theater student plays her role in the Friend Animals production.

Three Quinnipiac Theater students have an animated discussion during the Friend Animals production.

‘BABES IN ARMS’

Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Music by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart
Directed by Rory Pelsue

“BABES IN ARMS” is a musical about teenagers putting on a show in the face of rampant oppression, dubious allyship, raging hormones, and a less-than-hopeful future. Radical for its time and set during the Great Depression, no other Broadway musical has contributed so many lasting standards to the American Songbook. This first-ever student production of a new version restores the political sharpness of the original while ensuring it still sings to audiences in 2023.

the full cast at posing at the end of a musical number

the full cast in the middle of a musical preformance

2 student actors dancing on stage — “BABES IN ARMS” is a musical about teenagers putting on a show in the face of rampant oppression, dubious allyship, raging hormones, and a less-than-hopeful future.

a female student actor preforming on stage

3 student actors in a serious conversation on stage

‘Bulgaria! Revolt!’

Written by Miranda Rose Hall
Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova

BULGARIA! REVOLT! Is a new folk-rock musical epic co-created by director Elizabeth Dinkova, playwright Miranda Rose Hall and composer Michael Costagliola. A fantasia based on real historical events, this musical begins in 1925, with the jaded Bulgarian poet Geo Milev on the eve of his disappearance; he has written a poem to commemorate a failed peasant revolution and his people’s deaths at the hand of the government, but what is a poem good for? When the Devil bursts into his home and tempts him to surrender the poem, the poet and his wife, the idealistic actress Mila, join this mischievous master of ceremonies on a wild ride through a Bulgarian village on the eve of an uprising and an American meat factory on the brink of unionizing to ask: can an artistic act have political significance? Can revolution heal a destitute reality, or is always doomed to end in bloodshed and corruption?

A male student actor on stage in front of a full moon backdrop — BULGARIA! REVOLT! Is a new folk-rock musical epic co-created by director Elizabeth Dinkova, playwright Miranda Rose Hall and composer Michael Costagliola.

A male student actor on stage in a spotlight

A group of student actors on stage during "Bulgaria! Revolt!"

A female student acting on stage in a spotlight

‘Fallen Angels’

Written by Noël Coward
Directed by Rory Pelsue

Jane and Julia live lives of comfort and leisure. But when their mutual old flame Maurice comes back into their lives, Jane and Julia question their straight and narrow paths. Has domestic contentment destroyed the passion they once felt with Maurice? Or is the true passion in their lives not found in Maurice, but in each other? Noël Coward’s nearly century-old classic is a still-fresh portrait of the life-giving intensity of female friendship.

A female student actress looking at a postcard on stage

A female student actress looking over her shoulder with blue ambient lighting — Fallen Angels, Noël Coward’s nearly century-old classic, is a still-fresh portrait of the life-giving intensity of female friendship.

A student actress speaking to another student actress in character with pink ambient lighting

A female student actress looking out with blue ambient lighting

Aerial shot of 2 student actresses sitting at a long dining table

‘THEBES’

A new musical directed by Danilo Gambini
In development through Quinnipiac University and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre.
Collaborators: Danilo Gambini, Emma Hathaway, Katie Hathaway and Solon Snider.

Thebes is a new musical that came to life during lockdown in May 2020. A “workshop production” — Thebes is still not a finalized show and the collaborators foresee great changes to the production as it grows, evolves, changes and advances in its life. Since this is the first time this musical has ever been staged, it will also be the first time these songs are sung in public. As Thebes moves to the next stages of its life, the contributions from the cast and crew of this first workshop will be ingrained in Thebes’ heart forever.

Download the program (PDF)

A student actor on stage singing with pink background lighting for the production, Thebes

2 female student actors on stage with purple background lighting for the productions, Thebes — Thebes is a new musical that came to life during lockdown in May 2020. A “workshop production” — Thebes is still not a finalized show and the collaborators foresee great changes to the production as it grows, evolves, changes and advances in its life.

A female student actor on stage with red background lighting for the productions, Thebes

A student actor on stage singing with dark background lighting for the production, Thebes

A group of student actors on stage singing with navy background lighting for the production, Thebes

‘Three’

By Anton Chekov, translated
Directed by G.D. Kimble

Acclaimed theater director and playwright, G.D. Kimble adapted and directed this new translation of Three Sisters, from the original Russian, focusing on the simplicity, passion and immediacy of Chekhov's writing.

This is the story of a tight-knit group of friends and family centered around the Prozorov Sisters, three incredible young women who feel trapped in their small lives in a small town, and dream of returning home: their beloved Moscow.

Download the program (PDF)

Three female student actors on stage for the production, Three Sisters

A group of student actors on stage for the production, Three Sisters

A group of 4 student actors on stage for the production, Three Sisters — Acclaimed theater director and playwright, G.D. Kimble adapted and directed this new translation of Three Sisters, from the original Russian, focusing on the simplicity, passion and immediacy of Chekhov's writing.

‘An Iliad’

By Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare
Directed by Danilo Gambini

An Iliad spins the familiar tale of gods and goddesses, undying love and endless battles told through an original and immediate voice. Seven performers share the narrative in this sweeping account of humanity's unshakeable attraction to violence, destruction and chaos. Has anything really changed since the Trojan War?

Creative team: Abbey Copeland, Rose Bochansky, Savannah Lawton, David Desrocher
Ensemble: Darius Zahedi, Tyrell Latouche, Sarah Gass, Julia Orlofski, Esau Greene, Sneha Sakhare, Christina Stoeffler

Download the program (PDF)

Three female student actors on stage for the production with orange lighting background, An Iliad

A group of student actors on stage for the production with blue lighting background, An Iliad

A group of student actors on stage for the production with orange lighting background, An Iliad — An Iliad spins the familiar tale of gods and goddesses, undying love and endless battles told through an original and immediate voice.

‘RAGE’

Book and lyrics by Elizabeth Dinkova
Original music and additional lyrics by Frederick Kennedy
Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova

A play with music, RAGE tells the story of a writer’s decades-long struggle with his first novel, “Rage,” a diary of a school shooter, which “inspired” readers with deadly results. As the writer plunges back into his early work to discover the causes of teenage disenfranchisement and violence, he is forced to confront uncomfortable truths about the thin line between creation and destruction.

Download the program (PDF)

A group of student actors on singing stage for the production, Rage

A female student actor surrounded by other student actors singing on stage for the production, Rage

A group of 4 female student actors on stage for the production, Rage

2 male student actors on stage sitting on the ground leaning on a desk for the production, Rage

‘Baltimore’

By Kirsten Greenidge
Directed by Aleta Staton

When a racially charged incident divides her first-year students, reluctant resident adviser Shelby finds herself in the middle of a conversation she does not want to have. As pressure to address the controversy mounts from residents, the new dean, and even her best friend, Shelby must decide if she will enter the fray or watch her community come apart at the seams. Sharp, funny and searing, Baltimore is a timely drama about racism on college campuses.