Wisconsin Premiere
Life Sucks
March 28 - April 14, 2019
WRITTEN BY Aaron Posner
DIRECTED BY Jen Uphoff Gray
“What I truly enjoyed about this play was the absolute honesty and familiarity of it, even as the characters and their reactions are exaggerations of the norm, which is the key to the comedy of it…Make a day of it and spend some time in the Capitol Square with a good friend, as I did, and I guarantee that you won’t think life sucks at all.”
– Mary Boyle, Ozaukee Living Local
Sort of adapted from Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
In this bold and funny reworking of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, a group of old friends, ex-lovers, estranged in-laws, and lifelong enemies lurches between love and lust, laughter and longing, and the many ways in which life does, and doesn’t … suck.
Both brash and warm-hearted, Madison native Aaron Posner’s romp of a play reminds its seven hapless characters—and us—that to feel deeply is the price of a life well-lived.
Overture Center for the Arts
201 State St,
Madison, WI 53703
Sponsored By:
Foley & Lardner LLP
Isthmus
About the show
Runtime:
N/A
Performance Dates:
March 28 – April 14, 2019
Age Recommendations:
N/A
Accessibility
We strive to make our performances available to the entire community. This guiding principle captures the theater we aim to be.
We’re proud to be a resident company at Overture Center, which provides practical accessibility for a variety of needs.
Cast
Bill Bolz
VanyaReese Madigan
Dr. AsterBrian Mani
ProfessorMarcella Kearns
PicklesSarah Day
BabsElyse Edelman
SoniaRana Roman
EllaCreative Team
Mike Lawler
Set DesignerNoele Stollmack
Lighting DesignerRen LaDassor
Costume DesignerJoe Cerqua
Sound Designer and ComposerPam Miles
Props DesignerSarah Deming-Henes
Stage ManagerEnya Nett
ASMKevin Zimmer
Technical Director‘Life Sucks.’ playwright has Wisconsin connections – Gayle Worland, The Wisconsin State Journal
Aaron Posner wrote a play called ‘Life Sucks.’ He disagrees. – Lindsay Christians, The Cap Times
For the love of Chekhov – Michael Muckian, Isthmus
REVIEWS
“Forward Theater’s excellent production of Life Sucks is a funny, contemplative, tragic, ridiculous and insightful take on the sad-sack antihero Uncle Vanya (William Bolz) and his loosely related family group…These characters — with their desires, flaws, blind spots and small comforts — are people you should meet.” – Gwendolyn Rice, Isthmus
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“Posner has made a practice of taking classic literature, in this case the 1899 play Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov, and pulling out threads of character, situation and matters of the heart. What he’s able to mold out of these true things feels both fresh and timeless — timeless on an emotional level and a practical one…” – Lindsay Christians, The Cap Times
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“What I truly enjoyed about this play was the absolute honesty and familiarity of it, even as the characters and their reactions are exaggerations of the norm, which is the key to the comedy of it…Make a day of it and spend some time in the Capitol Square with a good friend, as I did, and I guarantee that you won’t think life sucks at all.” – Mary Boyle, Ozaukee Living Local
Read more
More from this season
September 6 - 23, 2018
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November 1 -25, 2018
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January 17 - February 3, 2019
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