Theatre department presents final show of spring semester, “Triumph of Love”

The Department of Theatre is presenting the last play of this semester, Triumph of Love, April 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. and April 24 at 2 p.m. in the Wayne S. Knutson Theatre.  

Director Casey Paradies said Triumph of Love is a musical about the princess of Sparta, Princess Leonide, who falls in love with a man, even though it is forbidden, and her journey battling this challenge. 

“We get to play with the idea of love and how reason and passion work in us as human beings and against us in some ways,” Paradies said.  

Senior musical theatre major Kylie Groves plays the character of Princess Leonide. Groves said her character is someone who, when in love, will fight for that love and do whatever it takes for her to get it and that this could be relatable to some audience members. 

“She is very driven and if you’ve ever been in love, you feel like you would do anything for that person you’re in love with and she really does that,” Groves said. 

Triumph of Love also features some themes of questioning one’s personal identity. Paradies said the characters in the play find themselves in situations where they question themselves and battle with who they think they should be versus who they are. 

“We ask how can we be honest with ourselves? What is the balance of passion and reason? Or is there a balance,” Paradies said. “It’s a play where we really get to look at ourselves as human beings.” 

Triumph of Love is a musical comedy in the form of commedia dell’arte, which is an early practice of comedy popular in Italy in the 16^th through 18^th centuries.  

Paradies said he is excited to do this show because unlike other shows this year that were not commedia dell’arte, Triumph of Love will bring a lot of comedy and light heartedness to the stage. 

“This show kind of reminds us that it’s okay to laugh at who we are as human beings and the strange things we do as human beings,” Paradies said. “It’s sort of like a lighthearted look at the foibles of humankind.”  

Groves said she is also excited for this show because it gives the audience a chance to step away from harsh realities and just sit and laugh at good theatre. 

“I just really look forward to bringing happiness for people after these hard times. The theatre community took a big hit with COVID-19, and we weren’t able to have audiences,” Groves said. “It was hard because we feed off our audiences’ energy so I’m excited for this opportunity to finally have a musical that is just going to make so many people laugh.” Those interested in seeing Triumph of Love can buy tickets at the box office located in the Fine Arts building or online at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=128995.