Cleveland State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, a Resident Company of Playhouse Square, presents Peter Weiss’ The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (or Marat/Sade), April 5-15, 2018, on the Outcalt Theatre stage at Playhouse Square.

Shows run Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 216.241.6000, visiting playhousesquare.org, or at the State Theatre Ticket Office, located at 1519 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. Tickets are also available 60 minutes prior to performances at the Allen Theatre Complex. A $25 Dinner and a Show package is available for Fridays April 6 and 13 with the pre-reservation code ‘DIN.’

The Story

Directed by Allan Byrne, the final theatre production of the CSU Theatre season is a groundbreaking “play-within-a-play” that uses every element of theatre, including song, dance, mime, and puppets, and places the audience inside the Charenton Mental Asylum after the French Revolution. In this asylum, the Marquis de Sade (played by Associate Professor of Theatre Dr. Michael Mauldin) directs the inmates in his play about the assassination of the revolutionary leader Jean Paul Marat, opening up the exploration of political change, the use of violence to bring about that change, and the nature of life and death.

“The play is as immediate today, with our political and social upheaval, as it was nearly 50 years ago -- it is timeless. It is a play dense with experiences, it is total theatre, engaging our senses and our intellect, funny, terrifying, sexual, savage, and exhilarating. It uses every dramatic device imaginable to create a stunning event,” says Byrne.

The CSU cast features Cheyenne Bizon, Anthony Brown, Raven Bryant, Rebekah Ferro, Jordan Ficyk, Jacob Gaspar, Benjamin Gillooly, Casie Griffis, David Holmberg, Frank Ivancic, Alyssa Jacobs, Christina Katsaras, Kaitlyn Levigne, Steven Livingston, Matthew Logan, Evan Martin, Dr. Michael Mauldin, Timothy Parks, Sullivan Ratcliff, Mia Snyder, Lauren Stepanski, Suzanna Szabados, Cody Thomas, Daniel Weddell, and Eric Wloszek.