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Moonchildren
October 8–14, 2026
By Michael Weller, directed by David Pellegini
Fine Arts Instructional Center’s Proscenium Theater
Although described by playwright Michael Weller as a comedy, Moonchildren covers a particularly tumultuous time in American history: the late 1960s. Set in a student apartment, a group of male and female college roommates grapple with uncertain futures, dramatic shifts in American culture, social responsibility and activism in a nation involved in a seemingly forever war. As NYT critic Clive Barnes described it, the play is about “taking a journey without maps, about developing ethics without. ethics, about surviving without much belief in survival, and about a group of young people who are “flip, witty, concerned and distrurbed against the very world that has made them flip, witty, concerned and disturbed.” As the first Broadway generation comedy that looks at the young side of the gap, when the play opened in 1982, Broadway audiences, perhaps looking for an escape from the tumultuous events of the era, turned away and the production closed after only a few weeks. When it was re-mounted a year later at an off-Broadway theatre in the heart of Greenwich Village it was an immediate hit and ran for over a year. It has since been anthologized as one of the 5 Best Plays of the seventies, and has been produced at regional theatres across the country.
Aside from providing a number of great roles for students to play with characters their own age they could relate to, our production will feature extensive use of the music and a montage of documentary and visual imagery from the era. But this is not a nostalgia trip. As one observer noted, Moonchildren is a “stunning work,” and one that has “weathered the years to become that rarity, a contemporary play that, while rooted in the era in which it was written, remains contemporary because its underlying themes are universal and unchanging.
Syzygy
November 12-15, 2026
A collaborative movement and sound project featuring the works of Alycia Bright Holland, Okon Hwang, Charliece Salters, Shatima Cruz, Zoe Czerenda, Cayanne McNeil & Zolah Daley
Fine Arts Instructional Center’s Delmonte Bernstein Studio Theater
CFT's 2nd mainstage of the Fall 2026 semester, Syzygy, brings together alums choreographers Charliece Salters, Shatima Cruz, Zoe Czerenda, Cayanne McNeil & Zolah Daley, along with CFT and Music Department faculty Alycia Bright Holland and Okon Hwang, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Fine Arts Instructional Center.
1984
March 3–7, 2027
From the novel by George Orwell. Adapted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr. & William A. Miles Jr. Directed by Tim Golebiewski
Fine Arts Instructional Center’s Delmonte Bernstein Studio Theater
In the not-too-distant future, the government beams propaganda directly into our homes and watches our every move. Winston Smith has committed the worst offense: Thought Crime, punishable by something far worse than death. Eastern Connecticut State University brings George Orwell’s cautionary tale of tyranny, misinformation and surveillance to the stage in an immersive production.
Peter and the Starcatcher
April 22-25, 2027 & April 28-May 1, 2027
A play by Rick Elice. Based on the novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson. Music By Wayne Barker. Originally produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, and Disney Theatrical Productions. Directed by Jay Are Adams.
Fine Arts Instructional Center’s Proscenium Theater
"Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair... and the bonds of friendship, duty and love."
