LEXINGTON, Ky.— Transylvania University’s professional theater residency project kicks off this week with four performances of the critically acclaimed play, “No Spring Chicken.”
The Project SEE production, directed by professor Sullivan Canaday White, will run Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Little Theater.
The new comedy by Ginna Hoben was hailed by critics at its Washington, D.C., premiere last fall as both a “tale of life at its very existential core” and “a funny surprisingly raw show.”
The script is inspired by Hoben’s pregnancy blog, “bambino & the bean,” which charted the highs and lows of pregnancy at an “advanced maternal age” – 40. “With candor typical of a late-night college gabfest,” notes Washington Post reviewer Jane Horwitz, Hoben’s character, Jenn, “launches into her tale. She always wanted to be a mom but wasn’t quite ready. And when she finally was ready, getting pregnant was tough.”
“This is a performance that celebrates the power of storytelling,” White said, “much like Hoben’s first play, ‘The Twelve Dates of Christmas,’ produced by Project SEE in 2011.” Project SEE is a Lexington theater company.
Hoben is an actor, playwright and TV writer/producer who lives in New York City. (Her works include the Emmy-nominated “Brain Games.”)
With its launch with Hoben’s play, Transylvania’s professional theater residency program will provide students a chance to work alongside professional theater artists on stage and off. “While professional theater residencies are not uncommon at large universities,” White said, “this new program represents a rare partnership between a small liberal arts college and a professional theater company.” The Project SEE residency is sponsored by Transylvania’s Dixon/White Theater Fund.
Tickets for “No Spring Chicken” are free, but reservations are recommended due to limited seating. For reservations, call 859-281-3621 (M-F, 2-4 p.m.) or visit here.