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Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre Spring Season to Spotlight the American Musical, the Irish Famine and Peter Pan

Trio of productions include 'A Grand Night for Singing,' 'Belfast Girls' and 'Peter and the Starcatcher.'

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (02/04/2026) — The spring season of the Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre will feature three productions that include an examination of a little-known part of Irish history, a backstory to a children's classic and an evening celebrating the American musical.

This spring season opens with the musical revue A Grand Night for Singing, followed by the Irish drama Belfast Girls and concludes with the comedy Peter and the Starcatcher. All three productions will be performed in V.P. Henry Auditorium.

"Audeiences should enjoy the scope and diversity of this spring's productions," said Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock. "In addition to being three very different kinds of productions, the spring season is a wonderful showcase of the talent of the students who are involved with our theatre program."

A Grand Night for Singing will be presented at 7 p.m. CT on March 26-27 and at 2 p.m. CT on March 29. It will feature selections from over 80 years of hits from the musical theatre that will cover Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers' Oklahoma! and South Pacific and more recent productions, such as Rent and Wicked.

"We've had musical events such as cabarets, but we've never staged an entire evening of singing, so we felt like now was a good opportunity to showcase our students' voices," said theatre graduate assistant Kassidy Phelps '24, who will direct the production.

Belfast Girls is a 2022 drama by Jaki McCarrick. It will be presented at 7 p.m. CT on April 8-10 and at 2 p.m. CT on April 12. Set in 1850, the play follows five Irish girls who have been sent to Australia to relieve Ireland of hungry citizens and help Australia build its population by marrying men they are to be matched with.

"It's a great play that is humorous and heavy at the same time, which is a trademark of so many good Irish plays," said Brock, who will direct the play.

The spring season will conclude with the comedy Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice. The Tony Award-winning play is an adaptation of the popular 2004 children's novel Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, which tells the backstory of legendary Peter Pan. It will be presented at 7 p.m. CT on April 22-24 and at 2 p.m. CT on April 26.

"The adaptation is hilarious -- it's really good," said Brock, who will also direct the play. "It is one of the funniest plays I've ever seen."

For more information about the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre's 2026 spring season, contact the department at theatre@lindsey.edu or 270-384-8044.

Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

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Lindsey Wilson University theatre graduate assistant Kassidy Phelps ’24 will direct “A Grand Night for Singing,” which will open the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre’s 2026 spring season. It will be presented March 26-27 and March 29 at V.P. Henry Auditorium.

Lindsey Wilson University theatre professor Robert Brock will direct the drama “Belfast Girls,” which will be presented April 8-10 and April 12; and the comedy “Peter and the Starcatcher,” which will be presented April 22-24 and April 26. Both productions will be in V.P. Henry Auditorium.

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