Northwestern College to present "An Enemy of the People" on stage

Northwestern College’s theatre department will present “An Enemy of the People” April 10, 12, and 24–26 in the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center’s Allen Black Box Theatre. The show will begin at 7:30 each of those evenings; there will also be a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 12.

The play, originally written by Henrik Ibsen, centers around a doctor who realizes the water in his town’s springs—a major source of income for the community—is severely contaminated. Urged to keep quiet for the good of the town after he alerts the authorities, he must decide whether the truth is worth fighting for, especially when it means going against the majority.

Northwestern’s production is an Arthur Miller adaptation of Ibsen’s original play.

“Really good art stands the test of time, and I see that in Ibsen’s work,” says the play’s director, Molly Wiebe Faber, assistant professor of theatre. “This play has themes that were relevant when Ibsen wrote it, and they’re still important now. What is the truth worth? That’s a question we should continue to ask ourselves today.”

Wiebe Faber is staging the play in an alley setup, with banks of seats on two sides. “A major component of this story is the springs,” she says, “and the alley setup is symbolic of these springs flowing through the town.” She’s also placing the action in the 1970s, so costumes, furniture and music will come from the decades of the ’60s and ’70s.

“An Enemy of the People” has a cast of 22. Jack MacGregor plays the lead, Dr. Stockmann. Other major characters include Emily Espinoza as Catherine, Lily Twaddle as Petra, Mackenna Thurman as Peter, Micah DeYoung as Hovstad, Ruthie Zimmerman as Billing, Liam Nibbelink as Aslaksen, George Livingston as Kiil, and Simon Maggert as Horster.

Tickets for “An Enemy of the People” are $10 for adults and $5 for students and go on sale March 27. They can be reserved at nwciowa.edu/tickets, by calling the box office at 712-707-7098, or by emailing boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.

Regarded as one of the best Christian college theatre programs in the country, Northwestern’s theatre department features a collaborative, excellence-oriented environment committed to helping students develop their creative gifts for service in God’s kingdom. Study with Northwestern’s award-winning faculty in the outstanding facilities of DeWitt Theatre Arts Center.