By Kendall Melton, Reporter

Shenandoah’s “Shut Up! It’s Shakespeare” troupe will be putting on Christopher Marlowe’s musical “Dr. Faustus” this Friday and Saturday.

The show will be performed in the basement of the Health and Life Sciences building at 11 p.m. on Friday, and twice on Saturday, at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The run time is 1 hour with a 15-minute intermission.

(Photo by Dion Mills; edited by Sami Pyne)

“Rehearsals started on January 16, right after winter break,” said Sara Backus, a senior acting major and director of the show. “It has been very collaborative because everyone loves sharing ideas. If an idea comes up, everyone will try it out and if it works, we will use it for the performance.”

“Marlowe wrote this piece during a time when magic was considered taboo because it was deemed as contrary to church and religion,” said Tyler Clarke, a junior acting major playing the lead role of Dr. Faustus, a German scholar who turns to necromancy after becoming bored with his everyday life. “I want people to be able to view something from a completely different point of view on not only an analytical level, but an emotional level too.”

Sidney Rubino, a senior acting major playing the evil angel who convinces Faustus to continue pursuing the art of necromancy, said, “The conservatory only has one Shakespeare class, so ‘Shut Up! It’s Shakespeare’ is a place where Shakespeare—or in this case, Marlowe—lovers can come together.”

Rubino said, “The basement of the health and life sciences building is ideal because it is spacious. It is perfect because you can turn it into whatever you want.”

“It is a classical piece in a creepy place,” according to Backus.

“There is beauty and congruence between movement and music,” said Clarke about the show. “It is stunning to see all together.”

“It is visually stunning and cool to see a person going through extreme circumstances,” said Rubino. “In this case, choosing between life or death and God or the devil.”

“There is paint everywhere and body paint is also used,” said Backus. “There are added elements that will help this classical story come across in a contemporary way.”

Tickets are free and can be ordered online here.