NEW ORLEANS (January 25, 2019) – Seven Dillard students have joined a host of professional actors to perform “24 Hours in the Life of Pontius Pilate” in the Samuel Cook DuBois Theatre this weekend in a collaboration with the Moscow Nights theater company.
Performances started last weekend (Jan. 19-20) and will run Saturday night, with a Sunday matinee.
The performance is one of three productions planned on campus, including February performances of “Ida B. ‘n the Lynching Tree,” written by English faculty member Carolyn Nur Wistrand and directed by Dillard alum Cherelle Palmer, and a possible, as-yet-unnamed 150th school anniversary production, according to Cortheal Clark, chair of the School of Humanities and theatre program coordinator.
Directed by Natasha O. Ramer, artistic director of Moscow Nights, “24 Hours In The Life of Pontius Pilate” is based on the novel “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov focusing on the Roman governor involved in the trial of Jesus Christ.
DU students performing in the play include:
- Senior Edward Bradstreet of New Orleans.
- Sophomore Sterling Miller of Minneapolis, Minn.
- Juniors Joe S. Burch III of Dallas, Jacques-Deshawn Chandler of Mobile, Ala., and Zachary Paige-Westbrook of Memphis, Tenn.
- Freshmen Walter Dixon of New Orleans and Duron Dunbar of Metairie.
Of the play, Ramer said, “We knew we needed to work hard to find how best to present Bulgakov’s stunning chapters about Pontius Pilate’s encounter with Jesus to a contemporary American audience.”
Tickets are $5 for students, $10 senior citizens and DU faculty and $15 for the general public.
Moscow Nights is a non-profit organization established to conserve and advance Russian culture.