SPRINGFIELD – The Clark State Community College Theatre Arts program will present “She Stoops to Conquer” this November at the Performing Arts Center.

Special guest Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State, will host a pre-show lecture on opening night of the production at 6 p.m. Nov. 1. A reception will follow, and the curtain rises at 8 p.m.

“Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th century play “She Stoops to Conquer” deals with themes that audiences will find relatable: tensions between socioeconomic classes, deceptive appearances, and satire couched as side-splitting comedy,” said Blondin. “In other words, his play is thoroughly modern and relevant in 2019.”

​Theresa Lauricella, associate professor and program coordinator of theatre at Clark State, said she and guest director Eric Brinkman discussed many possible titles and finally settled on “She Stoops to Conquer” because they wanted to explore a restoration comedy as the Theatre Arts program had yet to tackle this style.

“She Stoops to Conquer” follows a young woman who has to trick a shy young man into thinking she is a maid and her father’s house an inn so that he will woo her. On his way to meet her, his intended bride, for the first time, he is misled by his soon to be brother-in-law. What results is both comedic and illuminative of the relationships between men and women.

Brinkman adapted the play from playwright Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 original. Brinkman, who is finishing his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, is maintaining the historical element, but updated some of the humor.

Lauricella said the cast consists of Clark State students and two alumni.

Show times for “She Stoops to Conquer” are set for Nov. 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m.; and November 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. in the Clark State Performing Arts Center Turner Studio Theatre, 300 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield.

Tickets are $15 and are available online at ticketmaster.com. Clark State students get in free with a valid student ID.