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The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Department of Theatre & Dance presents The Birds as their first production of the spring semester. The show will run from February 7-10 in the Studio Theatre, located on the campus of the university.

The play is adapted by award winning Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Seafarer) and is based upon the short story, The Birds, by Daphne DuMaurier. A version of the story was turned into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950’s.

“All three versions are different” says Joel Grothe, the director of the production and Â鶹ÊÓƵ associate professor of theatre. “McPherson sticks closer to the short story, but he also makes it his own. It becomes more of a story of human relationships and circumstances heightened by a difficult situation. The character of Diane takes on more of a cryptic persona; she seems more like a Daphne DuMaurier mysterious character than in the other versions of the story.”

The production is directed and designed by Grothe, along with Dave McManus and Cherie Acosta, both assistant professors of theatre, and features Lamar students Caitlin Grammer (Senior, Bridge City, TX), Emily Buesing (Junior, Vidor, TX) Chris Shroff (Senior, Thicket, TX) and Kalan Bonnette (Freshman, Orange, TX).  The production is performed without an intermission and runs approximately 75 minutes.

Tickets are on sale now for The Birds and can be purchased at www.lamar.edu/theatre. Prices range from $7-$15. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday performance begins at 2:00 p.m.