As any movie or theatre-goer knows, good performances have the power to stay with you. This platitude, while true for the viewer, is perhaps even more true for the performers themselves. In an exciting and unprecedented event, eight highly successful FIU Theatre alumni will reprise their original roles in a special production of Glengarry Glen Ross. The show will run from August 8th-10th at 8:00 pm at the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center’s Blackbox Theatre at Florida International University’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, as part of the FIU Theatre’s Alternative Theatre Festival.
This summer’s production of Glengarry Glen Ross, a Pulitzer-prize winning play by David Mamet, is a revival of the popular 2002 FIU Theatre performance. Meshaun Labrone Arnold, Daniel Gutierrez, Ivan R. Lopez, Joe Llorens, Gustavo David Ortiz, Danny Suarez, Ramon Vuenes, and Ricky Waugh have agreed to return to reprise the show as a fundraiser for the FIU Theatre Student Scholarship Fund and as part of the Festival’s theme of a “Summer of Alumni Giveback.” Since graduation, the cast members have all achieved great success as professionals in the performing arts community, with accomplishments such as Actors’ Equity Association membership, teaching careers, and the creation of White Rose, a Miami theatre company, to their credit. The eight men live all over the country, but are flying in for the weekend in order to bring the riveting characters of Mamet’s gritty masterpiece to life once more. The actors are receiving no remuneration for their time, other than the satisfaction of giving back to the College that set them on the paths to their chosen career. Click here to read more information about each of the cast members.
In order to celebrate the opening night of this highly anticipated reunion, the FIU Alumni Association is co-hosting a reception with FIU Theatre on Thursday, August 8th, from 6:00-7:50 pm. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served in the Rotunda of the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center, and patrons and audience members are invited to attend and meet alumni, faculty and staff, and students.
Glengarry Glen Ross will be directed by Wayne E. Robinson, Jr., the original director. Tickets prices are a suggested donation of $20, and will be available at the door. Cash or check only will be accepted, with no advance sales.
The Department of Theatre in the College of Architecture and the Arts at Florida International University presents a season of four professionally designed, produced and directed productions each year that serve as a laboratory for students to put their learning into practice. In addition to Main Stage productions, students write, direct and perform in the Student Lab Studio Theatre, at the annual New Plays Festival, and at the summer Alternative Theatre Festival. The summer Alternative Theatre Festival includes a development project of a new work by an established playwright, a faculty directed piece, one student directed piece, and may include Alumni showcase and reunion productions. For more information visit: http://theatre.fiu.edu.
