LCCC play “The Wife of Fabian Vitalik” explores love and relationships

CHEYENNE, Wyoming – A play about love and change taking place in a magical world is coming to the stage this fall at Laramie County Community College. 

“The Wife of Fabian Vitalik” is a play written by two University of Idaho students, based upon a short story also written by a U of I student. LCCC students and theatre instructor Jason Pasqua saw the play while attending the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival last year in Spokane, Washington. Pasqua said he and his students were profoundly moved by the performance. 

“It was a really emotional experience because it was a great show,” he said. “There were a handful of my students sitting in front of me and they turned back to me at exactly the same time and said, ‘Do you think we could do this play?’” 

The play tells the story of Fabian Vitalik, a fisherman, who meets a young woman possessing special powers and abilities. The two fall in love and marry, but the relationship changes through time. This leads to questions of growing older and questions of loss. In the magical world where it takes place, Pasqua said the play explores dilemmas people face every day. 

“When you love someone, you lose a bit of yourself, but you gain a bit of someone else,” Pasqua said. “And is the deal always fair or equal?” 

Originally published as a short story by Mariah Montoya, a U of I graduate who wrote the story when she was a student, “The Wife of Fabian Vitalik” was adapted by U of I students Grace McGreevy and Kalyssa Montoya (the story author’s sister) for a senior project. Pasqua said it is appealing to take on a play developed by college students, as it shows LCCC theatre students what they can reach for in their own creative endeavors. However, he said the play’s powerful story stands on its own as a reason to bring the performance to LCCC, regardless of who wrote it. 

The audience will be given a dynamic, physical performance by LCCC’s theatre students, calling on them to explore being vulnerable on the stage, Pasqua said. 

“There’s dancing and puppetry, and we’ve got music,” he said. “Even just the way the world is created is very collaborative — it’s highly ensemble-based. I knew that what I wanted to practice and work on was radical vulnerability on the stage. That’s one of the things that I think we responded to when we saw the production is we have actors on stage who are entirely there for and with one another.” 

Performances of “The Wife of Fabian Vitalik” by the LCCC Theatre Department are set for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, 10 and 11 and Nov. 16, 17 and 18 in the Playhouse on the college’s Cheyenne campus. The play is family-friendly. Tickets are $10 and will be available at lccc.wy.edu/theatretickets. Admission is free for students. Tickets can also be purchased at the door, or by emailing boxoffice@lccc.wy.edu or calling 307-432-1626.

For more information on the production or the Theatre program, contact Jason Pasqua at jpasqua@lccc.wy.edu or 307-778-4323.