UIS Theatre Fall 2024

HURRICANE DIANE
by Madeleine George

  • Directed by Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson
  • Scenic Design and Technical Direction by Dathan Powell

Performances in the Studio Theatre, Level 1, Performing Arts Center, UIS Campus

Friday, November 1; Saturday, November 2; Sunday, November 3 & Thursday, November 7; Friday, November 8; Saturday, November 9. (All performances at 7:30pm, except for the Sunday, November 3 Matinee at 2:00pm)

New UIS Ticket Office Location

Please visit the NEW location (Level 1 of the Performing Arts Center, in the old Bursar's Office location, near the main "tear drop" entrance to the PAC) of the UIS Ticket Office, M-F: 10-5, for buying your tickets to this production. You may call the UIS Ticket Office at 217-206-6160.

The Story of the Play

"Meet Diane, a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. She's got supernatural abilities owing to her true identity--the Greek god Dionysus--and she's returned to the modern world to gather mortal followers and restore the earth to its natural state. Where better to begin than with four housewives in a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac? Pulitzer Prize-finalist Madeleine George pens a hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards."--Concord Theatricals

  • Madeleine George "whirls ancient myth, lesbian pulp, ecological thriller and The Real Housewives of Monmouth County into a perfect storm of timely tragicomedy."--New York Times
  • "...this bracing eco-comedy spins Greek mythology, Earth goddess humor, lesbian pulp tropes and sharply drawn characters into a theatrical surge..."--Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle
  • "Sex, gardening and climate change collide brilliantly..."--Sam Hurwitt, San Jose Mercury News
  • “Clever Eco-tragicomedy"--Emily S. Mendel, Berkeleyside
  • "hilarious and full of keen observation and profound human affection"--New York Magazine

The Time and Place in the Play

(From Stage Agent Online)

A Well-Appointed Cul-De-Sac in Red Bank, New Jersey and the World Beyond.

Present Day

More About The Play

Taken from David Block's May 7, 2024 review for the Broad Street Review:

In this comedic play, Dionysus emerges in a 21st-century New Jersey suburb in the form of Diane, a tough, outspoken, foul-mouthed woman (the role can be non-binary). He shows up because he fears that if nobody interrupts the human race's damage to the Earth, the planet will no longer exist, and nobody will be left to worship him. Therefore, he needs four Jersey housewives to improve the quality of planet Earth--his way.

"The play addresses many significant modern-day issues as it follows the four women whom Diane/Dionysus targets. She wants them to do her bidding, but they lack a strong connection to the earth. Instead, they're obsessed with insular jobs, computer technology, and overt sensitivities about their own appearance."