Down in the basement of the student union, university students and parents alike gathered for a performance of “Rhinoceros” by Eugène Ionesco.
Productions of the play were available to watch Friday through Sunday, and tickets were free for university students. This version of the play was directed by Sharon Croft, a theater professor at the university.
The play, which is an absurdist comedy, takes place in a small town in France and mimics the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany.
The play starts off with two friends: Jean, a put-together young man and Bérenger, a supposed alcoholic, as they meet to chat.
Instead of chatting, Jean berates Bérenger over his tardiness and lack of a put together appearance.
During this conversation, however, a rhinoceros barges through town, surprising everyone who sees. In the commotion that followed, another rhinoceros then charged through the town. The townspeople then debate whether a rhinoceros should be allowed through town and also debate whether there was in fact one or two rhinoceroses, which leads Bérenger and Jean to get in an argument.
After this, the scene changes, and we are taken to Bérenger’s workplace, a newspaper for the town.
In the office, Bérenger, who arrives late, walks in on an argument between several employees about whether or not the report about rhinoceroses running through town was accurate.
After the argument was shut down by the boss, they were curious about the whereabouts of one of the employees, Mr. Bœuf. Suddenly, the wife of the employee barges in the door, saying that she was chased there by a rhinoceros. The rhinoceros stays near the entrance of the building and even destroys the staircase.
It turns out that the rhinoceros was, in fact, Mr. Bœuf. When the discovery is made, Mrs. Bœuf decides to jump out the top window and ride off on her husband’s back.
Eventually, the fire department comes to resume the remainder of the employees. They tell the office that many people have turned into rhinos and are rampaging through town, leaving them with their hands full.
Once the situation is handled, a new scene begins.
Bérenger goes to Jean’s house to apologize for the argument that they had before. When he gets there, however, he finds out that his friend is sick.
This disease turns out to be rhinoceritis, a plague turning everyone to rhinoceroses.
As the conversation between Jean continues, he slowly turns into a rhinoceros, leaving Bérenger to flee.
The final scene takes place in Bérenger’s house. He has boarded himself in his house and is fearful of the disease.
He is then visited by Dudard, one of his fellow co-workers. Dudard also has been infected by rhinoceritis, but accepts the changes.
Also, Daisy, Bérenger’s love interest throughout the play, shows up to visit Bérenger as well. He confesses his love to her, and, although she seems to reciprocate, she now believes that the rhinoceroses are the superior being. Thus, after a fight with Bérenger, she wishes to join them.
The play ends with Bérenger all alone as the only human left in the town. He starts to go crazy with the thought of wanting to join the rhinoceroses and end his loneliness.
The play, which took months of preparation, also meant that the actors had to prepare a lot.
Will Settemberino, who plays the lead role Bérenger, described this time commitment.
“I’ve spent one to two hours a day practicing for the last month and a half, since we got the book,” said Settemberino.
With this amount of preparation, it is important that the cast is qualified to perform their role. Many of the cast members have been acting since they were young, giving the production a professional appearance.
One of these cast members was Auralie Yoder, who has been acting since she was eight.
Yoder said, “I’ve been doing theater since I was eight, so I’ve been in over 20 shows at this point … I’ve done a lot of community theater, theater in high school, and I’m doing it at college.”
The next Cabaret Theatre production, “Amélie the Musical,” takes place in February of 2026.
