Lincoln Journal Star

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will stage a play written in the early 1800s that features issues relevant today.

University Theatre opens "Woyzeck," a new translation of the Georg Buchner drama, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Studio Theatre, third floor of the Temple Building, 12th and R streets.

 UNL theater professor and German drama specialist William Grange directs the play he translated from German during the summer.

"Woyzeck" tells the story of Franz Woyzeck, a servant of a German captain.

He is a poor man who tries to become a philosopher. He's chided for his attempt, however, because the upper classes consider him amoral and stupid.

To earn money, Woyzeck allows a doctor to experiment on him. Adding to his woes is a cheating girlfriend with whom he has a son.

Stripped of all humanity, Woyzeck resorts to desperate measures.

Buchner wrote "Woyzeck" sometime between 1835 and his  death from typhoid in 1837. His work on the play was incomplete at his death, with the manuscripts consisting of several incomplete drafts.

No one really knows, had Buchner lived beyond his 24 years, how he might have arranged the play's scenes. The manuscripts were unpublished and largely unread until the 1870s.

"The play is a fragment, and it will always remain so," Grange said.

It's become popular only recently and has been translated several times and even made into an opera.

"An important reason for ‘Woyzeck's' popularity in recent decades is the perceived victimhood of the title character," Grange said.

Seventeen undergraduates make up the cast of the UNL production, led by Ivan Lovegren as Woyzeck and Courtney Pearson as his girlfriend, Marie.

Other cast members are William Heafer, Robert Krecklow, Darin Hemmer, Erin Dinnenn, Sean Connealy, Jordan Warren, Adam O'Rourke, Ryan Lueders, Misty Madden, Gerald Temple, Brady Leffler, Zachary Schmahl, Matt Miller, Kestrel Hauptmann and Rachel Miller.

Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and next Friday and Nov. 3-6. There is a matinee at 2 p.m. Oct. 31. The production is not recommended for children.

Tickets are $14, $12 for UNL faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for students. For reservations, call 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.

Sneak preview tickets are $5 and may be purchased only at the door.