MAURITIUS at USC's Longstreet Theatre

Name: MAURITIUS at USC's Longstreet Theatre
Start: 2025-02-21T19:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-21T21:30:00-05:00
Location: 1300 Greene St., Columbia, SC, United States, South Carolina 29208

Schedule

Fri Feb 21 2025 at 07:30 pm to 09:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

1300 Greene St., Columbia, SC, United States, South Carolina 29208 | Columbia, SC

The USC Dept. of Theatre and Dance will present the comic thriller "Mauritius" February 21 – March 1 at Longstreet Theatre, its first production after a much-needed seating renovation at the historic theatre.
"Mauritius" contains adult language and situations that are not appropriate for children.
In Theresa Rebeck’s dark comedy, which premiered on Broadway in 2007, two estranged half-sisters inherit a collection that includes two of the world’s rarest and most valuable stamps after the death of their mother. When one of the sisters tries to profit on the windfall, she enters a dangerous underworld of high-stakes collectors who are willing to do anything to claim these crown jewels as their own. “Funny, sharp and beguiling... with stunning scenes of high humor and drama.” – Variety
“Things are not what they seem in this story,” says director Erica Tobolski, a professor in the theatre program. “It’s a look at human behavior where people try to behave by the rules, but there's a darker world underneath.”
The real-life treasures at the center of the play are two misprinted 19th century stamps from the British colony of Mauritius that bear the words “post office” instead of “post paid.” In 2011, The Daily Mail reported a sale of the two-pence “Blue Mauritius” for just over £1 million at auction.
“One of the ideas that keeps coming up in rehearsals is that, like the stamps, it’s the errors that make the characters interesting,” says Tobolski. “We think we know who these people are, but eventually they surprise us with a twist.”
“It’s a little bit like the race for the golden ticket,” she adds. “It’s the question of how far they will go to get what they desire that causes all kinds of mischief.”
Cast in the production are second-year graduate acting students Dominic DeLong-Rodgers, Deon Turner and Elizabeth Wheless, and undergraduates Joshua Cook and Olivia Davis. The show’s design is being created by Assistant Professor Erik Flatmo (scenic), instructor Danielle Wilson (sound), first-year graduate student Madeline Gibson (costume) and undergraduate student Spade Kambak (lighting). Guest artist Dale Girard, an award-winning fight director, educator and author, is the Fight Coordinator for the production.
“This play is a great ride for the audience,” says Tobolski. “It’s a fast-paced, exciting two hours that will have you on the edge of your seat.”
SPEAKING OF SEATS...
"Mauritius" will be the first show produced in Longstreet Theatre after a recently completed interior refurbishment of the performance space. Thanks to funding from the USC Provost’s Office and the College of Arts and Sciences, the theatre’s original chairs have been replaced with brand-new seats, along with fresh carpeting and improved aisle lighting. Installed when the onetime university gymnasium was turned into an arena theatre in 1976, the original seats were reupholstered in the late 1990s. Over the last several years, that fabric had worn thin, exposing the foam cushioning underneath.
Significant portions of Longstreet Theatre’s exterior, including its massive Greek Revival portico, were refurbished in 2023. The months-long renovation included the intricate repair of the cast-iron Corinthian capitals atop the front columns, stucco and wood-trim fixes, and detailed cleaning and repainting.
For more information on "Mauritius" or the theatre program at the University of South Carolina, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at [email protected].