Furman Theatre presents “Pomp and Circumstance”

The cast of “Pomp and Circumstance”

Furman University Theatre will present the world premiere of “Pomp and Circumstance” by Furman alum Randall David Cook Nov. 13-16 and Nov. 21-23 at 8 p.m., with a matinee at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 17. All shows are performed in the Furman Playhouse on campus.

Tickets are $16 general admission, $13 for seniors, and $8 for students.  Parental guidance is suggested.

Set on an elite southern college campus, “Pomp and Circumstance” follows a random group of students who are one semester from graduation and comedically preparing for their post-school lives. They meet three times a week for their senior seminar, a course called “Life and Literature,” but no syllabus can prepare them for what’s about to happen.

Cook, a 1991 Furman graduate who is on campus this fall as the Duke Endowment Artist-in-Residence, is best known for his plays “Sake with the Haiku Geisha” and “Fate’s Imagination,” both of which premiered off-Broadway to critical acclaim. His one-act drama “Sushi & Scones” won the Southeastern Playwrights Conference Award for best play and received international exposure when broadcast by the BBC as a radio drama.

His southern plays (“Southern Discomfort” and “Third Finger, Left Hand”) have been produced in New York and regionally, and his works for high school students have been produced in practically every state in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Australia.

A native of South Carolina, Cook now resides in New York City, where he is resident playwright of Gotham Stage Company and a member of the Dramatists Guild.

While Cook serves as playwright-in-residence for “Pomp and Circumstance,” Furman theatre arts professor Jay Oney directs. Margaret Caterisano designs costumes, while Rhett Bryson designs set and lights, and Gene Funderburk designs sound.

For ticket information and reservations, call the Theatre Box Office at 864-294-2125.