As part of the celebration of the centennial year of Fresno native William Saroyan’s birth, University Theatre at California State University, Fresno honors the author, lyricist and playwright with a performance of his “Slaughter of the Innocents,” beginning Friday, Oct. 3.
It is the first time the play has been staged on the West Coast and University Theatre’s first production of the school year. Dr. Ed EmmanuEl, a theatre arts professor, directs the student production.
Saroyan’s depiction of the suspension of civil rights and due process was written in 1958, looking back at the McCarthy Era in which peoples’ careers and lives were ruined by accusations and innuendo of Communist Party affiliation, toleration or association with people similarly accused.
“Slaughter of the Innocents” takes place in a tavern, in which the newly constituted police state stages public trials without juries that quickly declare guilt for the accused, who are summarily shot to the peoples’ approval. When it happens to a young boy, the bartender rebels, throwing the system into turmoil and awakening the people to how they’ve allowed democratic principles to be corrupted.
Curtain at the John Wright Theatre in the Speech Arts Building rises at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4; 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5; and at 8 p.m. Oct. 7-11.
Tickets cost $17 general; $15 Fresno State faculty, staff, Alumni Association members, seniors and students from other schools; and $10 Fresno State students. Identification is required to obtain the discounts. Also available are group discounts (20 or more).
The Theatre Box Office is open noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the north entrance to the Speech Arts Building.
For tickets, call the box office, 559.278.2216, or click here.
Related link: www.csufresno.edu/Theatre
