StageQ Opens Latest Production with "Next Fall"

MADISON, WI--House lights go out as the sound of screeching tires and blaring car horns ring out in the dark theatre. Lights up on a hospital waiting room with the friends and family of Luke--a young aspiring actor--wait anxiously for news about his condition. Suddenly, Adam rushes in wanting the latest news about his boyfriend and if he is ok. There is another tension in the air though, on top of the unease that this horrible car accident has wrought; the religious Luke never told his parents he was gay and now his boyfriend is seated next to them. No one knows what to say.

StageQ's latest production opened to uproarious laughter and left audiences reaching for Kleenex. "Next Fall" takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play’s central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke with sharp humor and unflinching honesty, it goes beyond a typical love story--shifting back and forth between the past and the very tense present.

Running at the Bartell Theatre through February 8th, one of the show's biggest themes is religion and our views on life and death. While the younger Luke is a devout Christian who struggles to match his beliefs with his sexual orientation, Adam is an older, pragmatic Atheist who grapples to understand both Luke's view of the world but also why someone like Luke would fall for someone like himself. It is a funny, endearing, and--at times--emotional, look at faith, family, fate, and the price we pay to believe in something.

Tickets are available now at www.stageq.org!