UW Summer Theatre Continues with Old

June 17, 2008
Woman and man rehearse scene
UW students Katrina Despain and Nick Linn will perform in the romantic World War II play "Last Train to Nibroc."

The University of Wyoming's 2008 Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival continues June 24-28 with "Last Train to Nibroc," an old-fashioned love story set against the backdrop of World War II.

"Last Train to Nibroc" can be seen nightly at 7:30 in the Fine Arts Center Studio Theatre. Tickets cost $10 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

This touching romance, written by up-and-coming playwright Arlene Hutton and directed by UW Professor William Missouri Downs, played to great acclaim off-Broadway and in cities across the United States. It was nominated for the New York Drama League's Best Play award (2000) and was a finalist for the 1998 Francesca Primus Prize.

"I met the playwright last year at a conference in Valdez, Alaska, and found her to be as charming as her play," Downs says. "Unfortunately, she will not be coming to Laramie for our opening because she's attending the London opening. But she has wished us well and is thrilled the play is part of UW's summer theatre."

"Last Train to Nibroc" begins in 1940 on a cross-country train headed out of California carrying the bodies of American writers Nathaniel West and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also on board is May, a spirited, idealistic young woman bent on becoming a missionary, who is as unaffected by the presence of these American greats.

Sharing a seat with May is Raleigh, a charming young flyer who wants to become a writer in New York. Just discharged from the service, Raleigh is as unsure of his place in the world as May is certain, and his gentle teasing and self-deprecating humor both attract and repulse May.

Both of their plans are derailed as love blossoms between the two Kentucky natives and their lives become infinitely more complicated.

"This is a delightful wartime romance," Downs adds. "Anyone who remembers the war will enjoy this simple love story about two souls who meet on a train."

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