Now that cold weather is officially here to stay, students will be searching for indoor activities to enjoy. A great option is to check out the Villanova Theater’s event schedule. The Villanova Theater is a hidden gem located on main campus in Vasey Theater. Both graduate and current undergraduate students have the opportunity to perform on stage and share their talents with others. The theater group puts on several plays throughout the year. The first Tuesday performance is a free showing for students. 

I recently had the opportunity to visit Vasey and see a play called “She Loves Me.” This was the first time I had seen a play at Villanova, and I was blown away. The passion of the actors on stage was clearly visible throughput the entire performance. The stage was painstakingly detailed, so much so that I felt transported into the 1930s as soon as I entered the theater. The lighting was wonderfully coordinated with the songs to give another dimension to the performance. At first, I was worried that the stage would be too small, but instead the cast was able to use the stage size to their advantage. 

The cast was not only able to make Vasey come alive, but it was also incredibly talented. The main characters Amalia Balash and Georg Nowack, who were played by Mina Kawa and Ethan Mitchell, were able to leave the audience rolling with laughter. The audience was excitable and fully immersed in the performance of the play. Several times throughout the performance, the audience would stand up and start clapping in response to an especially powerful choreography number and song. The chemistry between all the ensemble was contagious, the audience was able to pick up on the cheeky love story that was taking place. 

The basis of this production was that both Amalia and Georg have signed up for a Lonely-Hearts correspondence service. This service put the two lovers in contact with one another. They are anonymously corresponding, but little do they know that they already know each other outside of the pen and paper. What ensues is a hysterical series of events as they go about discovering to whom exactly they are writing. Even with this main story line, several other love stories and comedic tales are happening at the same time.

Don’t fret if you missed the running of “She Loves Me.” Villanova still has opportunities for other shows to watch. Next semester, the Villanova Theater will be producing a new musical, “Youth.” This will follow a magical coming of age story and will be running from Feb. 5-7. As the weather stays chilly, consider stopping by and watching a theater production on campus. These productions will transport students away from the bitter cold and into a different time and place, hopefully somewhere with sun.