SU Theater Presents 'Appropriate' Nov. 17-19

SALISBURY, MD---When estranged siblings gather to settle the estate of their deceased father, they discover a past no one suspected.

That’s the premise of Appropriate, presented by Salisbury University’s Bobbi Biron Theatre Program Thursday-Sunday, November 16-19, in the Black Box Theatre of Fulton Hall.

Curtain is 8 p.m., 2 p.m. Sunday. Robert Smith, co-chair of SU’s Music, Theatre and Dance Department, directs.

Written by MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the play has been compared to works by Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill and Tracy Letts, exploring history and family dynamics while mixing explosive domestic drama with disarming humor.

The catalyst for the tensions that surface among the siblings in the production is a newly discovered photo album among their father’s effects at the cluttered former Arkansas slave plantation where he lived. Its incendiary contents lead to more questions than answers.

The New York Times called Appropriate “piercingly clear, with carefully drawn characters who speak in crisp and fluid dialogue. The confrontations that occur … are as old as the existence of families.” The Los Angeles Times said the play positioned Jacobs-Jenkins as “one of the rising stars in the American theater.”

The cast includes Quincy Corbin, Will Dean, Joseph Groth, Caitlyn Jennings, Jared Koenig, Caroline Lewis, Megan Murphy and Gigi Pesaniello.

Costume design is by Georgia Fried. Set design is by John Raley. Lighting design is by Ryan Bailey. Sound dseign is by Ethan Boyer. Meredith Ditto stage manages.

Sponsored by the Music, Theatre and Dance Department, admission is $12; $9 for seniors age 60-plus and SU faculty, staff and alumni; $5 for non-SU students; $3 for SU students with Gull Card. The production contains strong language and is recommended for mature audiences.

Advance tickets are available online at www.salisbury.edu/performingarts, via phone at 410-543-6228 or in person at the SU Box Office, Fulton Hall Room 100. Box Office hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

For more information call 410-548-5588 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.