NMU calls off evening classes, “Fallujah” still on stage
Continued inclement weather has led Northern Michigan University to cancel classes for this evening, according to Public Safety officials.
Although the university is closed for the remainder of Wednesday (Feb. 20) and all WinterFest activities scheduled for the evening have been canceled, the Forest Roberts Theatre play “Fallujah” will be held at 7:30 p.m. as scheduled.
The play is about the experience of an American journalist embedded with troops in Iraq and the lingering trauma he must confront after he returns to the States. Show times are 7:30 p.m. tonight through Saturday, Feb. 20-23, with a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday.
“Fallujah” is directed by Ansley Valentine. According to the synopsis, “The journalist befriends the Marines he is working with and is immediately captivated by their stories of combat and home life. After tragedy strikes, the journalist is forced to return home, but the echoes of his time in Iraq reverberate too strongly for him to bear as he struggles to reconcile his experiences and to make a difference in a war that he doesn’t fully know, but cannot truly leave.”
Evan Sanderson wrote the play—his first—for his thesis at Boston University’s School of Theatre. He was impacted by a magazine story that indicated the death toll from suicides related to inadequate mental care for soldiers may exceed the combat death toll in Iraq.
Tickets are available at all NMU EZ Ticket outlets. They are $5 for NMU students, $10 for students 18 and under, $15 for the general public and $10 each for groups of eight or more.