St. Scholastica theatre students present "Sailor's Song" Oscar-, Tony- and Pulitzer-winning writer speaks on campus.

Release Date: 10/17/12

DULUTH, MN - "Sailor's Song," a romantic seaside story by John Patrick Shanley, is the first production of St. Scholastica Theatre's 2012-2013 season. The play begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, in the St. Scholastica Theatre, directly behind Tower Hall on campus. Liz Gray-Larson will direct the play. 

Shanley will speak at St. Scholastica at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Mitchell Auditorium for the Francis X. Shea Memorial Lectureship. This event is free and open to the public. Shanley will talk about  the relationship of theology, religion and literature.

The following day, Oct. 31, students will have an opportunity to attend a private lecture on writing with Shanley on the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus.

Shanley is an acclaimed writer and director who has won the Oscar, Pulitzer and Tony awards. He wrote and directed the 2008 movie "Doubt," which starred Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It earned five Academy Award nominations.

His long list of acclaimed plays, many of which he directed in their original productions, includes: "Defiance," "Savage in Limbo," "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow," "Beggars in the House of Plenty," "Where's My Money?" "Italian American Reconciliation," "Four Dogs and a Bone," "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," and "Dirty Story."

He was given the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play for his story of "Sailor's Song."

"It is a story infused with dance," notes Merry Renn Vaughan, assistant professor of communication, theatre and art at St. Scholastica. "The director and cast have taken Shanley's invitation to dance literally and have filled the stage with dance and movement."

In the plot, Rich comes home after being at sea to help his uncle care for his dying aunt. He ventures into a local bar looking for something fun and distracting. While there, he meets two sisters and eventually becomes infatuated with both of them. Poignant and reflective, this dark comedy delves into the idea of destiny and the power of love.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and students and $5 for St. Scholastica students. Tickets can be purchased online through the Spotlight Box Office at spotlight.css.edu or call (218) 723-700. Spotlight@css.edu is St. Scholastica's one-stop shop for arts and lectures information and tickets.

"Sailor's Song" performances will also be staged Nov. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinee performances are at 2 p.m.

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest colleges in the Midwest. The 2013 "America's Best Colleges" survey by U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of Midwestern universities. The Washington Post has rated St. Scholastica as one of the nation's 100 "hidden gems" among U.S. colleges and universities.