MARQUETTE, Mich.— The John Steinbeck classic Of Mice and Men will be performed at Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre Nov. 17-20. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, along with a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday.

The play is set in Depression-era California. Itinerant ranch hands George and Lennie dream of when they might have a "place of their own," but tragic events test their bonds of friendship and threaten to ruin their plans for the future. NMU Professor Shelley Russell is directing the show.

            Joe Rayome, formerly of Negaunee and now an Actors’ Equity member based in New York City, is returning to his alma mater to play the role of George. Rayome graduated from NMU in 2004 after starring in a number of Forest Roberts Theatre productions, including Romeo and Juliet, Oklahoma!, Our Town and Picasso at the Lapine Agile. He has appeared in the off-Broadway world premiere of Ernest Hemingway’s The Fifth Column, Broken Journey by Glynn Maxwell and in the Japanese film Battle Under Orion. 

            Kris Kempien, a secondary physical education major from Mukwonago, Wis., is making his acting debut as Lennie.

Rounding out the cast are: Heidi Hill, a communication studies major from Ishpeming, who plays Aunt Clara; Timmy Grams, a theater major from Hespiria, Candy; Jennie Nicholas, an English major from Ishpeming, Curley’s wife; Michael Skrobeck, a theater major from Dallas, Texas, Curley; Daniel Greco, a criminal justice major from Crystal Falls, Slim; Rob Shirlin, an NMU alumnus and Marquette resident, The Boss; Ryan Sitzberger, a criminal justice major from Waukesha, Wis., Whit.

Scenic design is by NMU Professor Victor Holliday. Dave LaChapelle, an electronic engineering technology major from Negaunee, is the lighting designer. Other members of the technical crew include Andrea Knoll, NMU graduate student and artistic intern from Vassar, stage manager; Alaina O’Brien, theater major from Ithaca, costumes; Jalina Olgren, theater major from Ishpeming, sound; and Tyler Welden, a theater major from Milwaukee, Wis., props master. 

Tickets for Of Mice and Men are $8 for students and $12 for the general public. They can be purchased at all NMU EZ Ticket outlets.