Shorewood student featured in UW-Parkside Theatre’s “Great Expectations”

Parkside Theatre, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s award-winning theatre company, presents seven performances of Charles Dickens’ classic coming-of-age tale “Great Expectations.” This inaugural production in the Black Box Theatre in the new Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for the Arts and Humanities is presented Feb. 24-26 and Mar. 1-3, and features Shorewood student Madeline Wakley.
In Victorian England, the Industrial Revolution has transformed the social landscape but the division between rich and poor remains steadfast. One day, the young orphan Pip is taken to play at the home of wealthy spinster Miss Havisham, where he meets and falls in love with the beautiful but cruel Estella. Pip is working hard to become a gentleman worthy of Estella when news comes that a secret benefactor has given him a large fortune. A mystery then unfolds as Pip’s sudden rise from poor country boy to wealthy city gentleman forces him to move from one social extreme to another.
Wakley portrays Mrs. Joe, Pip’s older sister. She is a stern and overbearing figure to Pip and her husband Joe, frequently menaces both with her cane. Discontent with her status, Mrs. Joe’s fondest wish is to be something more than the blacksmith’s wife.
Tickets for Parkside Theatre’s production of “Great Expectations” are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $7.50 for students. Order tickets online at www.uwp.edu keyword tickets, by email at boxoffice@uwp.edu or call 262-595-2564.