'Middletown'

The Department of Theatre presents “Middletown,” by playwright Will Eno. In this delicate and wry amble along the collective road to nowhere, the folks are friendly, and the view of star-dappled skies and modest homes is familiar and comforting. Yet nestled amid all the homey detail is a prickly awareness on the awesome mystery of existence, the void whence everything came and into which it all may one day go. “We talk about the miracle of birth and the mystery of death,” says Eno. “But, by definition, all of our lives take place in the middle of those two sorts of knowable events, in this great and unexamined middle, just going to the store and fixing the sink and looking for love and getting up in the morning. Because that’s how we live.” The strange beauty of life and its sometimes unbearable weight are both considered with a screwball lyricism in this play; and a casual acknowledgement of the despair nibbling at the edge of the sensitive psyche is just another part of everyday life. Free to Denison students. Ticket prices are $8 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for students. For reservations, contact the box office at 740-587-6527.