Play and Playwright Join for Performances of Ivan and Adolf

April 10, 2000

April 10, 2000, Greencastle, Ind. - The audience will be able to see not only the play, but also the playwright, when Duzer Du presents Stephen Vicchio's Ivan and Adolf: The Last Man in Hell at DePauw University on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 14-16. The production is scheduled Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, Kerr Theatre. Tickets are $3, and seating is limited.

There will be an unusual treat for the audience in that Vicchio, the play's author from Baltimore, will be in attendance each night. A reception and discussion with Vicchio is planned following each performance.

Vicchio's play features two characters -- one drawn from literature (Ivan Karamazov) and the other from history (Adolf Hitler) -- who wind up as the last residents of Hell. Each man struggles to find redemption and his transfer papers to Heaven. Cared for and guided by the wise maid Sophie, Adolf strives to attain forgiveness, while Ivan struggles with his inability to forgive. Who will be the last man in Hell? Directing the play are DePauw students Justin Mapes, senior, and Emily Brauer, sophomore.

Vicchio is the author of 14 books, and Ivan and Adolf -- published in 1997 -- is his second play. Vicchio's essays have appeared in numerous publications, including the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Newsday, America and The Critic. He is a professor of philosophy at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and he also teaches at Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland and the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary and University. In 1994, Vicchio was named Maryland Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.

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