Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Black Box Players close 20th season with Machiavellian comedy ‘The Mandrake’ beginning April 21

Wednesday, April 19, 2006, By News Staff
Share

Black Box Players close 20th season with Machiavellian comedy ‘The Mandrake’ beginning April 21April 19, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Black Box Players will close its 20th anniversary season with Niccolo Machiavelli’s comedy “The Mandrake,” adapted by Frederick May and Eric Bentley. The show opens April 21 and runs through April 29 at the Black Box Theatre located in the Regent Theatre Complex, which houses the SU Drama Department and Syracuse Stage at 820 E. Genesee St.

Set in early-sixteenth century Italy, “The Mandrake” is a satirical comedy exploring themes of fidelity, greed and sex. The story begins with the return of young Callimaco to his native Italy after spending 20 years in Paris. Callimaco comes home to pursue the beautiful Lucrezia, who happens to be married and extremely virtuous. With the help of a few colorful characters, Callimaco devises a scheme involving disguises, deceit and a special potion made from the root of a mandrake. Hilarity ensues, making “The Mandrake” a comic masterpiece.

Written sometime between 1512 and 1520, the comedy is considered to be one of Machiavelli’s most popular plays. It became an extremely influential play and is said to have “helped to establish conventions of erudite comedy in Italy.” Supposedly based on an actual occurrence, “The Mandrake” satirizes corruption in Italian society.

The cast of “The Mandrake” includes 12 students from SU’s Department of Drama. Junior Danny Gordon is young lover Callimaco and senior Jenny Jordon is the highly sought-after Lucrezia. Assisting Callimaco in his plan to pursue Lucrezia is the wily matchmaker Ligurio, played by senior Chris Carpenter. Senior Adam Dornbusch is Callimaco’s servant, Siro.

Lucrezia’s dimwitted husband, Messer Nicia, will be played by senior Ross Gallo, and her mother, Sostrata, will be played by senior Jessica Lara Mortellaro. Junior Joe Tannenbaum appears at the cunning Friar Timoteo with junior Amy Kurtz as a woman. Rounding out the cast are members of the chorus–senior Tug Watson, junior Raina Helen Fraley and sophomores Jason N. Mesches and Brittany Anne Oman.

The Italian Square set was designed by Jim Koehnle, who serves as props carpenter at Syracuse Stage. Sophomore costume designer Adam Adelman captures the personalities of each of the characters. The comic mood of the piece is enhanced by senior Michael Bosh’s lighting design and senior Neil Roberts’ sound design. Sophomore Holly M. Breuer serves as stage manager.

All Black Box Players productions are free of charge to the public. Seating is limited, so audience members should arrive at least one half hour prior to the performance to assure seating. To make reservations, leave a message on the Black Box Players’ voice mailbox at 443-2102. (All requests will receive a follow-up phone call from the box office.) Parking is available at the Syracuse University Parking Lot and the Madison/Irving Garage, both located across from the Regent Theatre Complex on Irving Ave. For more information, visit http://www.blackboxplayers.org.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Project Mend Builds Community Through Writing for Those Impacted by the Justice System
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By News Staff
  • June 30 Deadline Set for Fiscal 2023 Year End Business
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By News Staff
  • DPS Accepting Sign-Ups for R.A.D. Summer Session
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Alex Haessig
  • Syracuse Stage Adds 2 Musicals to 50th Anniversary Season
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Supporting, Advocating for Trans Youth Will Help Them Thrive As Adults
    Friday, May 26, 2023, By Daryl Lovell

More In Uncategorized

Syracuse Views Spring 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Awards of Excellence Honoree: Maxwell has Been ‘a Guiding Hand’ in Public Service Career

Standing before an audience of fellow Maxwell School alumni gathered in Washington, D.C., for the second annual Maxwell Awards of Excellence, CNN anchor Boris Sanchez ’09 shared the motivation behind his work as a journalist. Sanchez emigrated from Cuba as…

NASA Honoring Those Who Were Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia And Other Late Astronauts

Sean O’Keefe, University Professor in the Maxwell School, was interviewed for the USA Today article “Twenty years later, loss of space shuttle Columbia still teaches us lessons.” The article emphasizes how NASA’s Memorial Grove is used to honor late astronauts,…

NFL, Eagles and Chiefs All Set To Win The Economics Game In Super Bowl LVII

Rodney Paul, director and professor of sport analytics in the Falk School, was quoted in the Washington Examiner story “The economics of the Super Bowl: Hosting, gambling, ads, and more.” The article talks in-depth about all of the economics that…

CEOs Requiring In Person Work Is Hurting Diversity

Arlene Kanter, director of the Disability and Policy Program and professor in the College of Law, was interviewed for the Business Insider article “Some CEOs are pushing workers to return to the office, but it could come with a cost:…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.