Stetson University finishes up its 107th season with Brian Friel’s Tony Award winning play, Dancing at Lughnasa. Dancing at Lughnasa is directed by Dr. Ken McCoy, professor of theatre arts at Stetson University, and will run from Thursday, April 18 through Sunday, April 21.

Dancing at Lughnasa focuses on five unmarried sisters living together in the Irish countryside in August 1936. The play is told from the point of view Michael Evans as he recounts the summer in his aunts’ cottage when he was seven years old.   The household is made up of the imperious teacher Kate, the irreverent Maggie, the serene and steady Agnes, the sweetly eccentric Rose, and finally, the romantic Chris and her seven-year-old son Michael, born to her out of wedlock. Their usual routines are disrupted first when Michael’s Uncle Jack returns from 25 years of missionary work as a Catholic priest in Africa, and further when Michael’s father Gerry arrives for a visit.

The August harvest festival, known as Lughnasa, provides the play’s backdrop and stirs up the conflict of pagan and Christian cultures. This happens not only between Kate’s strict interpretation of Catholicism and Irish folklore, but also in Father Jack’s mind as his years in Africa has caused him to merge his own religion with that of his African parishioners. One by one, the sisters submit to the lure of the earth, dancing like dervishes, remembering pilgrimages to past dances and their lost innocence. Michael is the silent witness who will tell their story in its context of personal, cultural, emotional, and economic change.

The ensemble cast of Dancing at Lughnasa includes Cassie Kris, Allison Cooper, Jacob Manos, Kristina Ramos, Alex Schelb, Robert Spellman, Amie Vaughan, Austin Scott, and Ashley Johnson.

Showtimes are 8 p.m., Thursday, April 18 through Saturday, April 20. The Sunday performance will be a matinee on April 21 at 3 p.m.

Admission for each performance is $12 for adults, and $10 for senior citizens and non-Stetson students. Stetson students, faculty, and staff presenting valid I.D. will be admitted free of charge.

Stetson Theatre Arts’ “Second Stage” Theatre is located in the Museum of Florida Art at 600 N. Woodland Blvd. Parking is free. Tickets will be available at the door, and can be purchased by either cash or check. Reserved tickets must be picked up 30 minutes prior to the start of each show.

For information or reservations, call Stetson Theatre’s “Second Stage” box office at (386) 822-8700 beginning April 8. All tickets can be purchased at the door by cash or check up to one hour prior to curtain of each performance.