By Celia Richardson

“It’s a story about democracy run amuck.”

This is how director Brian MacDevitt describes Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1956 play The Visit, which will open at the University of Maryland’s Kay Theatre in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Sept. 28. The Visit, presented by the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS), will be the first mainstage show of the Fall 2019 semester, and will run through Saturday, Oct. 5. 

The Visit takes place in Güllen, a destitute town that is turned upside down with the arrival of Claire Zachanassian, a Güllen native and one of the wealthiest women in the world. Claire, who was outcast by her community when she was younger and pregnant, returns with a billion-dollar ultimatum that could save the town, and a shocking plan to seek revenge on ex-flame Anton Schill. 

“It’s a play that I’ve always loved and I’ve always wanted to direct,” MacDevitt said, who submitted his idea to do the absurdist tragicomedy about a year ago. MacDevitt said he believes the play was written in response to Switzerland’s “tacit approval” of World War II horrors; and he said he wants to explore the balance between ethics and needs fueled by poverty. 

MacDevitt is on the TDPS faculty and is a five-time Tony award winner for lighting design, and said his experiences in lighting have influenced his directing by keeping him “watching the big picture.” 

Senior theatre major Denisse Peñaflor, who plays Claire, also suggested that MacDevitt’s successful career in lighting led to the high standard for tech elements within the production. 

“I think we’re in a really great place,” sophomore theatre major Davis Stack said. “It’s all really starting to come together.” 

Stack, who is making his mainstage debut in The Visit as the painter and sacristan, is excited for audiences to see “some really cool projections” and “musical elements” he thinks people will really enjoy. 

“It’s been two months, but it feels like it’s been way longer than that,” Peñaflor said. 

Peñaflor described Claire as “eccentric” and “calculated,” “intelligent, but also humorous.” At the end of the day, though, she said she wants to make sure everyone knows that Claire is human. 

Peñaflor discussed in particular a very intimate scene between Claire and Anton (played by sophomore Samuel Intrater), in which the two characters reminisce over their past love. When she was finally able to find love in that relationship, despite the pain, Peñaflor said she broke down crying.

 “I felt the soul of Claire sink into my body […] She’s not some one dimensional villain, she’s not a caricature of a powerful woman. She’s a lot more complicated than that because at the end of the day everyone in this play is human, and that includes her.”

The Visit is an ensemble-heavy play; MacDevitt said the cast is comprised of 25 actors and two dancers. Peñaflor explained that if even one person was missing, the show would be completely different, going on to compare the cast to a small town in which everyone has different relationships and roles, but is united by something they’re all a part of. 

MacDevitt said he hopes people who are not typical theatre goers (perhaps, had to attend the show for a class), will leave the performance wanting to come back to the theatre; and Peñaflor said: “Be prepared to have fun, but also put your thinking caps on.”