September 13, 2007
For Immediate Release
For an interview:
Christopher Clark
(801) 863-8345
“The Heiress” by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz opens the UVSC Theatrical Arts Department 2007-08 Season that carries the theme “The American Experience.” “The Heiress,” is performed September 27-October 6 at the Black Box Theater, at Utah Valley State College Campus in Orem, Utah at 7:30 p.m.
The setting is 1850 in the fashionable New York home of Dr. Austin Sloper. Sloper, whose daughter Catherine is an insecure and plain young woman, is quick to point out his daughter’s shortcomings. When she falls desperately in love with Morris Townsend, a handsome young man of questionable means, her father sets a wily trap to learn the truth about Townsend’s intentions, leaving Catherine with a fateful decision.
The director of “The Heiress” is UVSC Theatre Professor Christopher Clark. “It’s a really fascinating play,” said Clark. “It’s romantic, funny, and tragic, and it explores a full range of human behavior and psychology. I think the timelessness of the story will really surprise people. It feels like it could have been written yesterday.”
Based on the great American novel, “Washington Square” by Henry James, “The Heiress” was also captured on film in 1949, starring Montgomery Clift as Townsend and Olivia de Havilland as the title role. De Havilland’s performance of the shy and desperate Catherine earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
“The role of Catherine is quite challenging,” Clark said. “The actor has to posses great emotional range.”
Within that emotional journey lie a few surprises. “I love the fact that the story leaves the audience guessing,” Clark said. “It’s a very well-written play, and it may be tricky for the audience to predict how the story will end.”
The all-student cast includes Jaclyn Hales (Portsmouth, N.H.) as Catherine the heiress, Alex Ungerman (Provo) as her suitor Morris Townsend and Jake Suazo (Levan, Utah) as the suspecting and unloving Dr. Austin Sloper.
Other cast members include Julie Mortimer (Orem) as Aunt Penniman, Katy Baxter (Orem) as Maria, Katie Sullivan (Lindon, Utah) as Mrs. Almond, Heather Housley (San Diego, Calif.) as Marian Almond, Jacob Squire (West Valley, Utah) as Arthur Townsend and Rebecca Cain (Roanake, Va.) as Mrs. Montgomery.
For more information on “The Heiress,” call (801) 863-8797 or visit www.uvsc.edu/campusconnect/events/
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