Book and Lyrics by Victor Lodato, Music by Polly Pen
dir. Catie O’Donnell, music dir. Mark Wurzelbacher
prod. Meghan Randolph – Music Theatre of Madison 2016

Sara Jane, the prim and proper wife of soldier Jerry, spends an afternoon ruminating on her life: her plastic surgery obsessed mother, army veteran father, and Jerry, whose texts and photos from Iraq have become increasingly disturbing lately. Torn between her objections to the atrocities of war and her loyalty to her family’s service to their country, Sara Jane allows herself to reflect, for the first time, on what it truly means to love a soldier.

Starring Amber Nicole Dilger as Sara Jane

Crew

Stage Manager – Elliott Puckette

Preview

In The Media

Isthmus Review: An Intimate Conversation

“Music Theatre of Madison has been experimenting with presenting shows in nontraditional venues this year, and this production is a perfect example of how well that can work. Setting Arlington in a coffee shop full of homey décor and comfortable couches with the audience on all sides, it’s as if we’re all attending a casual dinner party for a friend. The setting matches the immersive storytelling style, removing barriers between the performer and the audience. Director Catie O’Donnell has Sara Jane moving around the entire space, so there’s not a bad seat in the house.”

The Capital Times: Best of theater 2016: The year in 12 shows in Madison (and beyond)

“What a pleasure to watch an exceptionally talented soprano like Amber Nicole Dilger embody bubbly, sweet Sara Jane, a modern military wife whose husband texts her from Iraq. Catie O’Donnell directed the play in the front of Lakeside Street Coffee House, arranging chairs around the piano as though we were in Sara Jane’s living room. This created a closeness that made some of Sara Jane’s less appealing (but realistic) characteristics — her naiveté about the costs of war and casual bigotry, for example — harder to ignore.”