For its second production of the 2004-2005 season, Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama will bring to the stage the seventeenth-century classic play The Duchess of Malfi. Written by the English playwright John Webster and published in 1623, the play is a tragic tale of corruption, violence, and depravity. 

The play recounts the life of the ill-fated duchess of Malfi, a young widow who refuses to obey her family's command never to remarry. The duchess falls in love and secretly marries the man she loves, triggering the ire of her murderous brothers. When a spy is planted in her household, the trap is set which will lead to her exile and torture. Widely considered to be Webster's masterpiece and one of the most popular revenge plays of the Jacobean age, The Duchess of Malfi has long been a subject of heated debate among critics. 

To create a new interpretation of this classic play, the School of Drama enlisted guest director Di Trevis. Trevis is a noted actress and director who first won international acclaim when she, together with Harold Pinter, adapted and directed a production of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past at the Royal National Theatre in London. 

She currently heads the directing program at the Drama Centre conservatory program in London, one of England's most distinguished training programs. Travis gives a new spin to the tale by setting it in Italy during the reign of the fascists, in the 1930s.  The play will feature Jenny Gammel as the duchess, William Reynolds as Ferdinand, Aimee Deshayes as Julia, and Andrew Gehling as the Cardinal; all seniors in Drama.  

The Duchess of Malfi will be performed at the Philip Chosky Theater in Carnegie Mellon's PurnellCenter from December 2-4 to December 7-11, 2004. All performances will begin at 7:30 pm on Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 pm on Fridays, and at 2 pm and 8 pm on Saturdays. To purchase tickets for The Duchess of Malfi, please contact the School of Drama box office at 412.268.2407.