For Immediate Release
Contact: Adam Zahler
Assistant Professsor,
Visual & Performing Arts
azahler@worcester.edu
508-929-8538
April 2, 2012
(Worcester, Mass) – A play in which a cell phone is guaranteed to ring during the performance? That’s just one of the delights of Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone, which runs April 19th through the 22nd in Fuller Theater at Worcester State University.
Sarah Ruhl, a fresh and highly regarded American playwright, presents us with a quirky, thoughtful comedy tinged with magical realism. Dead Man’s Cell Phone explores human identity and how we connect in the digital age.
When the man at the next table refuses to answer his cell phone, Jean discovers he is dead. Taking the phone, she becomes his self-appointed secretary and sets out to heal the rifts in his family – but on the way, finds that the real transformation may be within herself.
The artistic team of Worcester State University’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone, under director Adam Zahler, has worked for months create a production that captures the profound whimsy of Sarah Ruhl’s play. John H. Hood, the scenic designer, is using rear-projection of images that have been specially created for the production; Susan Johnson-Hood has created costumes based both on the work of the artist Edward Hopper and on film noir; and Sam O'Connell, in his first design role for Worcester State, has created a sound design pulling from sources as diverse as Nokia cellphones and Argentinian tangos.
Christine Begin ‘13, in her first lead role for Worcester State Theatre, plays Jean. She is joined by Joe Aliberti (Gordon), Tasha Matthews (Mrs. Gottlieb), Kelsey Govoni (Hermia), Matthew Cunsolo (Dwight), and Sara Penniman (The Other Woman/The Stranger).
Performances of Dead Man's Cell Phone are April 19, 20, and 21 at 8:00 p.m. and April 22 at 2:00 p.m at Fuller Theater, Helen Shaughnessey Administration Building, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester. Tickets are $7.00 students, $10.00 seniors, and $14.00 general admission.
For reservations and information call 508-929-8843. For additional information about Dead Man’s Cell Phone and Worcester State Theatre check online at
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