University Theatre season opens with Central Valley premiere of ‘The Wolves’

By Miguel A. Gastelum

University Theatre is pleased to present the Central Valley premiere of “The Wolves” by Sarah DeLappe. The production is directed by Kathleen McKinley and runs Sept. 28 – Oct. 6 in the Dennis & Cheryl Woods Theatre in the Speech Arts building on the campus of Fresno State.

Tickets are $17 for adults; $15 for Fresno State faculty, staff, alumni and military; and $10 for all students. Children under 5 not admitted. Group rates are available for groups of 20 or more. Box office hours are noon to 4 p.m. on weekdays and one hour before each performance.

Parking is free for shows on Friday through Sunday night. For shows on Tuesday through Thursday night, parking permits are required and can be purchased at dispensers in parking lots on campus.

A girl’s indoor soccer team.  Astroturf. Game day rituals. Warm-ups.  Nine high school juniors navigate questions, large and small, as they gear up to win on the field and in life.  Honored by The New York Times as one of the most important new plays of the last 25 years, “The Wolves” portrays the “scary and exhilarating brightness of raw adolescence,” and the dynamics of power, love, and humor within a team of young female athletes determined to be champions.

“The Wolves” was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; the original New York production won an Obie Ensemble Award; it won a special Drama Desk Award for its acting ensemble, and was nominated for Lucille Lortel and Drama League Awards for Best Play, as well as for the Outer Critics’ Circle John Gassner Award for Outstanding New American Play.  

“A thrilling debut play. First-rate ensemble acting and theater that keeps you on the edge of your seat,” wrote Ben Brantley in The New York Times.

Jesse Green, then writing for New York Magazine, called it “an astonishing new play. Extraordinary.”

Frank Rizzo with Variety, said, “the ensemble work is astonishing – acting teamwork of the highest order.”  

The cast includes Sara Marie Adam, Ruby Arreguin, Karina C. Balfour, Alyssa Benitez, Hannah Berry, Teya Juarez, Cassidy LeClair, Nwachukwu Q. Oputa, Madeline Rydberg, & Summer Savonna Session

Sept. 28 – 29 & Oct. 2 – 6 performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 30 performance begins at 2:00 p.m. No late seating, no exceptions.

“The Wolves” contains adult language.  

For more information, contact the box office at 559.278.2216 or universitytheatre@csufresno.edu.