Comedy The American Century is next up in Black Box series

Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts presents its second Black Box Series play, The American Century, a comedy by Murphy Guyer.

Performances will be held in the Black Box Theatre of the Schwartz Center beginning Friday, Nov. 9, at 4:30 p.m. Performances continue Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets -- $2 in advance or $3 at the door -- can be purchased at the Schwartz Center box office, Monday through Friday, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. or at the door one hour before the performance. Call 254-ARTS for tickets.

The American Century takes us merrily back to 1945 -- a year in which the hopes and dreams of the future shine bright for Tom and Margaret Kilroy. The couple optimistically envisions their destiny to include a dream car, a big house brimming with smiling children and, of course, more love and joy than they know what to do with. A stranger visits the Kilroys and fills them in on the years ahead. He casually mentions the realities in store for them -- and us -- as the stranger travels the terrain of a society teeming with birth control, homosexuality, Watergate and the space race. The humorous shock of the Kilroys coupled with the clever twist in store for all create a sharp, funny commentary on our modern lifestyle.

The American Century features the talents of Cornell students Jeff Blagg '01, Craig W. Divino '04 and Darra Messing '04. The play is directed by Rori Bergman '02.

Four times a year, the Black Box Series offers students valuable opportunities to assume commanding directing, design and acting roles in small-budget projects. The series is made possible through the generosity of Cornell alumni Leah Shampanier Gould and Harold Gould.