In the fall of 2024, audiences from across the Merrimack Valley were taking in the Northern Essex Community College Theater production of “Hurricane Diane.” A new revival of the show had just swept into Newburyport’s Fire House Center for the Performing Arts in the wake of racking up 13 national awards. Little did anyone on the stage know that, at that precise moment, a ripple effect from their performance was being felt 1,180 miles away.

NECC’s production of Hurricane Diane at the Fire House Center for the Performing Arts

“I was so moved by this play and the production that I thought I had to get this script,” recalled Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson, theater professor at the University of Illinois, Springfield.

In the fall of 2024, she was staging her own production of “Hurricane Diane,” inspired by NECC. Thibodeaux-Thompson had never heard of the play before attending the Region 1 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in January 2024. As the chair of Region 3, Thibodeaux-Thompson was there as a judge. NECC Theater was remounting “Hurricane Diane” as one of just six finalists for the festival’s top award, chosen out of 60 productions, including shows from many prestigious, four-year schools.

Thibodeaux-Thompson wasn’t slated to judge “Hurricane Diane” but said there was such a buzz about the show around the festival that she had to see what it was all about.

“And I was blown away. All the performances were top-notch, and I loved the pared-down set,” she said. “One of the beautiful things about going to Festival is I’ll see plays I’ve read and taught 110 times, and then I’ll see a play like this for the very first time.”

As soon as Thibodeaux-Thompson got back to UIS, she brought the play to her fellow theater staff, who agreed to stage it as their fall production.

The UIS production of Hurricane Diane
Photo credit: Clay Stalter, UIS Photographer

“It just fit our ethos. We’re always looking for new and emerging playwrights, especially women.”

The play’s focus on climate change also brought about opportunities to engage other areas of the college in the production.

“I sent a copy to a friend in the biology department, and she consulted on the script. She even set up a table outside of the performances to talk about some of the themes in the play.”

The show was a huge success at UIS, as it was at Northern Essex, and Thibodeaux-Thompson said she hopes others are inspired by it, as she was.

“I just have such a visceral memory of seeing this play for the first time. I told so many people you need to look at this play. It sparks a wonderful conversation.”

NECC Theater’s Next Tour de Force

NECC Theater will be wowing audiences once again with its spring production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

The play explores consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, direct and indirect encounters with reproduction, vaginal care, menstrual periods, prostitution, and several other topics through the eyes of women with various ages, races, sexualities, and other difference. The New York Times called the play “probably the most important piece of political theater of the last decade.”

“’The Vagina Monologues’ tells the stories of women. I chose the piece to ensure that women’s voices remain heard and not silenced,” said NECC Theater Professor Brianne Beatrice. “The actors are extremely passionate about the material and allowing these women’s stories to be told.”

The show stars NECC student actor Mirrorajah Metcalfe, who won a national award from KCACTF following her run as the titular role in “Hurricane Diane.” It also features NECC students Maggie Evans, Jenny Njo, and Naima Eve.

The show runs from May 8th to May 11th. Showtimes and tickets can be found here.

For more information about NECC Theater, contact Beatrice or visit the webpage.