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BYU stages 'Mother Courage and Her Children'

The BYU Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present the epic, anti-war drama, Mother Courage and Her Children in the Pardoe Theater of the Harris Fine Arts Center, at 7:30 p.m., on March 17-19, 22-25, 28 and April 1, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees on March 19 and 26. An ASL performance will be presented on Thursday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $14, with discounts available for senior citizens, alumni, students and employees. Tickets can be purchased in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422-2981 or online at byuarts.com. Frequently hailed as the greatest play of the 20th century, this 1939 anti-war drama tells the story of a mother trying to keep her children alive during one of the most violent and deadly wars of Europe. Written by renowned German playwright, Bertolt Brecht, the play brings to life the folly of conflict as the title character loses all she has to the very clashes she seeks to profit from. Using Brecht’s groundbreaking concept of alienation to tell the story of a simple woman and her family, director David Morgan believes the aesthetic developed for this play will deepen the appreciation of epic theatre. “In telling this story, Brecht wants us to see ourselves. Are we learning nothing, and in so doing, doomed to continue the cycle of war over and over? ‘Ever learning and yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth?’” Morgan said. “Are we the problem? Are we continuously circling our family tree decorated with the strange fruit of our blind choices?” Starring the retiring and incomparable BYU Theatre professor Barta Lee Heiner in the lead role, Mother Courage is dynamic and impactful “epic theatre” at its finest.

Story Highlights
  • Performance Dates: March 17-19, 22-25, 28 and April 1
  • Times: 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees on March 19 and 26
  • Location: Pardoe Theatre, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
  • Price: $14 (with discounts for senior citizens, BYU students, employees and alumni)
  • Tickets: Available in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422-2981 or online at byuarts.com