OXFORD, Miss. – Musical and dramatic performer Claudia
Stevens presents the one-person drama “Dreadfully Sorry,
Guys” Friday (Oct. 5) at the University of Mississippi.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. in Nutt Auditorium of Scruggs Hall,
the program is free and open to the public. However,
donations are encouraged to benefit the Sarah Isom Center
for Women and Gender Studies and the Gay-Straight Alliance
Diversity Award.
Written by Stevens in reaction to the 1999 California
murder of her friend Gary Matson and his partner, the play
offers a reflection on lost culture and diversity. It
premiered in 2005 at the Cornelia Street Cabaret in New
York City.
The event marks the third time in recent years that Stevens
has performed on the Oxford campus, including last
November, when she presented the acclaimed musical drama
“An Evening with Madame F.”
“The Sarah Isom Center is delighted to have invited Claudia
Stevens back to perform a fundraiser for us,” said Mary
Carruth, director. “She is an artist who advocates for
social justice but not at all in a pedantic way. Her pieces
are rich and resonant, and her piano-playing is
exceptional.”
Co-sponsors are the Isom Center, University Lecture Series,
Multicultural Affairs and the departments of Music and
Theatre Arts.
Critiquing Stevens’ recent performance of the show in the
Baltimore area, a writer for the Baltimore Sun said,
“Performance artist Claudia Stevens is adept at using the
unlikely to unearth unexpected truths.”
The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Stevens has earned a
significant place in the emerging field of performance art.
A classical concert pianist and composer, she has presented
concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall and has been the featured
artist on “Performance Today on NPR.” She has recorded for
and published compositions in Perspectives of New Music.
For more information or assistance related to a disability,
call 662-915-5916. To learn more about the Isom Center,
visit