The Wofford Theatre Department is excited to showcase their newest production, “Failure: A Love Story” by Philip Dawkins. Mark Ferguson, professor of theater and T.R. Garrison, chair of humanities, is directing the show and is excited to present it to the Wofford community.
This story is unique from past Wofford productions, as it combines love, death and comedy to create a story about time and relationships.
“Among other things, the play is about death and how we spend the few moments that we have on the Earth. Samuel Beckett says in Waiting for Godot, ‘We give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams for an instant, then it is night once more,’” said Ferguson. “Failure considers that same idea, but, like many plays and other works of literature and works of art, it suggests that there are ways to make our few moments on earth meaningful and beautiful.”
“The play suggests that maybe the most meaningful and beautiful way is loving another person.”
The story takes place in 1920s Chicago and follows the experiences of three sisters: Gerty Fail, Jenny June Fail and Nelly Fail, who each fall in love with the same man: Mortimer Mortimer. Their intense love and passion is extinguished when they each shockingly die.
Jack Tope ‘26 is playing Mortimer Mortimer, the lead role in the show. Though he has served as lead roles in the past, he believes this will be a new experience for him.
“It’s not very basic in terms of storytelling. There’s still a lot of interesting things to dive into,” said Tope. The show has some serious moments but there’s a lot of levity as well… we’re having to find that balance (between love and death) and how we portray that energy so that the audiences are with us for the ride, they’re not just passengers.”
“We live in a culture that has a hard time dealing with failure and dealing with death,” said Ferguson. “Even though this play is poignant, it is not tragic. As a dog in the play observes, just because a thing ends, like a life, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great success.”
Rachel Johnson ‘24 took all of the music that is listed in the show and rewrote it for a three-part harmony. Though the production features 26 musical events, it is not a musical. Rather than the music moving the plot forward, it comments on the plot’s action.
This helps create mood, rhythmic storytelling elements and serves as scene breaks. Johnson, a theater major and music minor, composed entirely new music for the production.
“I’m excited to see audiences eyes and ears out on stalks when they hear that wonderful music because we haven’t had music on stage at Wofford in the context of a play for a long time,” said Ferguson.
Anneka Brandon ‘26 has contributed numerous hours to the production’s musical component as well, serving as a choreographer, member of the chorus, mother of the three sisters and a talking snake. She particularly appreciates the inclusion of animal characters in the show and the way it shifts the emotion.
“The big things that hit about love and loss are said initially by animals, so it adds some lightness to it,” she said.
“Failure: A Love Story” will take place in Wofford’s Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre at 8pm on April 25 through 27 and May 1 through4. Tickets are available to Wofford students, faculty, staff and the general public.
Admission is $12 to the public, $10 for Wofford employees, and $5 for students. The box office opens an hour prior to showtime, and seating is limited. Visit wofford.universitytickets.com for ticket purchase.
