University Theatre premieres play for young audiences

Award-winning playwright Steve Feffer takes a look at consumer culture, memory, and the powerful love that binds families together in his new play for young audiences, “The House I Call Love,” opening this March at the University Theatre.

In this multimedia comedy, a 10-year-old girl named Sammy explores the concept of memory as she tries to stop a mall developer from tearing down her father’s dream house.

Feffer fills the play with tender moments of Sammy’s love for her family in juxtaposition with hilarious, over-the-top encroachments of society on the sanctity of her home. The Stages Repertory Theatre awarded Feffer the National Children’s Playwriting Award for “The House I Call Love.”

Director Harry Waters Jr., featured earlier this season in “Master Harold … and the boys,” is working closely with Feffer to bring to life what Waters calls “a modern American fable showing the importance of family history, and the influence that history can have on the whole community.”

“The House I Call Love” runs March 2, 9 and 16 , Mitchell Theatre, 3 p.m. Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger, Vilas Hall Box Office, (608) 262-1500.