2021-2022 USM Theatre Season
Covid Protocols
USM Theatre is so excited to be returning to live theatre at Russell Hall! In order to keep our students, staff, and patrons safe, we have put the following COVID protocols in place:
- Patrons are required to wear masks at all times while in Russell Hall.
- Patrons will need to show proof of ONE of the following:
- COVID vaccination (with their ID); or
- A negative PCR test within 48 hours of the performance (with their ID); or
- A negative Rapid Test taken within 12 hours of the performance (with their ID)
- Seating capacity will be limited to allow for distancing.
- HEPA filters will be used throughout the performance.
- Hand sanitizing stations are available throughout the lobby.
Upcoming Productions
Clue: On Stage
Based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
Written by Sandy Rustin
Additional Material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price
Based on the Paramount Pictures Motion Picture
Based on the Hasbro board game CLUE
Original Music by Michael Holland
Directed by Andrew Harris
April 15 — 24, 2022
Russell Hall, Gorham Campus
Are you a board game aficionado and enjoy the unfurling of a great whodunit? Are you prepared to join six mysterious guests who attend an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are both on the menu? If you have answered "yes", then enter the mansion for the hilarious classic detective game of Clue onstage.
It's a dark and stormy night, and you've been invited to a very unusual dinner party. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well . . . dead. So whodunnit? Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard as they race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up. Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Clue is a madcap comedy that will keep you guessing until the final twist.
Past 21-22 Season Productions
The Marvelous Meep Island Adventure
Based on the play Meep by Ed Swidey
Directed by Sara Valentine
October 8 — 17, 2021
Various Locations: See below for details
On the marvelous Meep Island, the Meeps play all day long; until, one fine day, the Somethings come along…Are these Somethings unpleasant? Will these Somethings be kind? What sort of Somethings did the little Meeps find? Come be part of our story and see how it ends; maybe Somethings and Meeps can somehow be friends. A free theatre event for audiences of all ages, presented outside in October on a variety of stages. Bring a blanket, chairs, a picnic; tell your friends and join the fun! This one-hour theatrical adventure is meant for everyone!
Presented by the University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre in partnership with the towns of Gorham, Westbrook, South Portland, Portland, Freeport, Bowdoinham, Lewiston and Auburn.
| Date & Time | Location & Rain Location |
|---|---|
Friday, October 8 at 4:00 p.m. In partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine | Jordan Field, located at Brick Hill Townhouses, South Portland Rain location: Brick Hill Community Room |
Saturday, October 9 at 11:00 a.m. In partnership with Lewiston Public Library | Kennedy Park, Lewiston Rain location: Auburn Senior Community Center |
Saturday, October 9 at 3:30 p.m. In partnership with the Auburn Recreation & Sports Tourism Dept. | Festival Plaza, Auburn Rain location: Auburn Senior Community Center |
Sunday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. In partnership with the City of Portland | Deering Oaks Park, Portland No rain location |
Friday, October 15 at 4:00 p.m. In partnership with the Westbrook Housing Authority | Larrabee Woods, 9 Dottie’s Way, Westbrook Rain location: Presumpscot Place, 22 Foster St., Westbrook |
Saturday, October 16 at 11:00 a.m. In partnership with the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Freeport | Memorial Park (corner of Bow and Park Streets), Freeport Rain location: Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main St., Freeport |
Saturday, October 16 at 3:30 p.m. In partnership with the Town of Bowdoinham | Mailey Waterfront Park, Bowdoinham Rain location: Bowdoinham Town Hall, 11 School St. |
| Sunday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m. | USM Gorham Campus on the lawn by Corthell Hall Rain location: USM Gorham Campus, Russell Hall |
She Kills Monsters
By Qui Nguyen
Directed by Megan Tripaldi
November 12 — 21, 2021
Russell Hall, Gorham Campus
It’s 1995 - Gangsta’s Paradise, Waterfalls, and Creep are at the top of the charts. But for Agnes, none of that matters because her little sister, Tilly is gone - or is she? Armed with her sister’s last Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Agnes now has to navigate the secret world Tilly created to find out who she really was when she was alive. Bursting with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, She Kills Monsters is a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
Urinetown
In collaboration with the Dr. Alfred and D. Suzi Osher School of Music
Book and lyrics by Greg Kotis
Music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann
Directed by Rachel Price Cooper
Musical direction by Edward Reichert
March 3 — 12, 2022
Russell Hall, Gorham Campus
To Pee, or not to Pee, that is the question! In a world where prolonged draught has ravaged the land, the basic human right of urinating has become ruthlessly policed by an evil megacorporation as a luxury item. Those who dare to buck the powers that be are sent off to a sinister, mythical place called "Urinetown" never to be seen again. This zany, Tony Award-Winning musical satirizes corporate greed, social responsibility, personal freedoms, and unchecked revolutionary idealism in the face of a public health crisis. Not timely at all, huh?
Sponsored by Edna and Richard Krull
Urinetown is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.