Samantha Sutton as the Little Jesus Girl

The School of Fine and Performing Arts at Rider University will present The Pillowman at the Yvonne Theater, located inside the Fine Arts Building on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus, 2083 Lawrenceville Road. The production, directed by Miriam Mills, will run Saturday, February 21; Friday, February 27; and Saturday, February 28, at 8 p.m.

Preview performances will be held on Thursday, February 19, and Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for students, faculty and staff, while admittance to the preview performances is $4 at the door. For more information, please call 609-896-5303. This production is for mature audiences.

A drama celebrating man’s ability, need and desire to create fantasy, The Pillowman was called a “spellbinding stunner of a play” by Ben Brantley of The New York Times.  British playwright Martin McDonagh’s black comedy focuses on Katurian, a writer of short stories, living in an unnamed totalitarian state. He is arrested and brought in for interrogation because his dark, child-murder stories seem to be coming true, and it appears that the writer is inspiring someone to slay these innocent children.

The Pillowman opened on Broadway in April 2005 starring Jeff Goldblum and Billy Crudup, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. The Pillowman also captured the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. McDonagh has been the recipient of the Tony, Olivier and Academy Awards. 

“The reason this play was chosen was because it is one of the most intelligent, fascinating and important plays I have read in the last 10 years,” Mills said. “The play creates unique challenges for the student actor and will be a wonderful learning experience for all involved.”

Although the play’s plotline is quite disturbing, it’s also quite funny, said Mills, an assistant professor at Rider’s School of Fine and Performing Arts. 

“There is no question that the audience will be mesmerized and will understand why theater is such a wonderful medium for exploring human nature,” she added.

The cast list includes Nick Anastasia, a sophomore Fine Arts major, as the Father; Laura Bobek, a senior Journalism major, as the Mother; Tommy Butler, a junior Communication major, as Michal; Kevin Feehery, a senior Fine Arts major, as Tupolski; Justin Kelly, a sophomore Sociology major, as Ariel; Kelcie Kosberg, a freshman Fine Arts major, as the Foster Mother; Julia Main, a freshman Fine Arts major, as the Mute Girl in Green; Chris Reed, a freshman Fine Arts major, as the Foster Father; David Spadora, a freshman Fine Arts major, as Katurian; Samantha Sutton, a junior Elementary Education and Fine Arts dual major, as the Little Jesus Girl; and Christina Fuscellaro, a freshman Fine Arts major, as the Good Mother.