USC Theatre to Present Virginia Woolf's ORLANDO at Benson Theatre

The USC Department of Theatre and Dance will present Orlando, Sarah Ruhl's theatrical adaptation of Virginia Woolf's groundbreaking story of self-discovery, February 26 – March 1 at Benson Theatre, directed by Patrick Michael Kelly.

Ruhl's take on the “longest and most charming love letter in literature” is an extraordinary trip through space, time and gender. Orlando begins his story as a young man serving as courtier to Queen Elizabeth I, but a yearning for more takes him on a centuries-long adventure that finds him, in the 18th century, unexpectedly transformed into a woman. Orlando's adventures in life and love form the heart of a dazzling tale where gender and societal rules shift regularly with hilarious and heartfelt results.

The play, Kelly says, is a faithful distillation of Woolf's 1928 masterwork, with passages taken verbatim from the novel. A two-time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, playwright Sarah Ruhl first penned her adaptation in 1998; it has since had acclaimed productions Off-Broadway and in London's West End.

Ed Madden, a USC English professor who also leads courses in the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, is serving as dramaturg and advisor on the production. The collaboration, Kelly says, has been key to finding the heart of Woolf's story, which was originally written as a tribute to her deep love for writer Vita Sackville-West.