The Department of Performing and Media Arts presents the award-winning Broadway play "God of Carnage," Oct. 25-27 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

Performances are Oct. 25 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 4:30 and 8 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre at the Schwartz Center. Tickets are $5, available by visiting Schwartz ticket sales online, by calling 607-254-ARTS or at the Schwartz Center box office, 430 College Ave., from 12:30-4 p.m. weekdays.

Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, "God of Carnage" focuses on the aftermath of a fight between two 11-year-old boys, when the boys' parents meet to discuss the incident. As the evening wears on, the parents become more irrational, enraged and violent as they venture into loaded topics like misogyny, racial prejudice, homophobia and each other's marriages and parenting skills.

Director Jesse Turk '14 said the play's story rings true for many students.

"So many students at Cornell -- as well as students in general -- have parents who want the best for them, but are also overly involved in their children's lives and can be overbearing and overprotective," Turk said. "This play explores how when parents have to defend their children's honor, it really is more about defending their own proficiency as a 'good parent,' whatever that truly means."

The production will be entirely student-led, from costume, set, sound and lighting design to stage management, directing and acting. The cast also plans to hold events on Ho Plaza centered on the theme of "parents say the darnedest things," where they will collect snippets that students have recently heard from their parents.

"Very few people in our society, parents and children alike, say what they really mean in order to remain politically correct and polite," Turk said. "I love this play because it throws the idea of 'polite' out the window. The characters in the play shed their layers as members of upstanding, civilized society and devolve into saying things we usually only dream about saying when frustrated. I think it will be a chance for people to reflect on why we hold some things back and say others."

The play was originally performed in Zurich in 2006 and brought to Broadway in 2009, where it starred Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden, all nominated for Tony Awards for their performances. Harden won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Play. The Broadway production was the third-longest running play of the decade and closed June 6, 2010, after 476 performances. Roman Polanski adapted the play for the screen in 2011, starring Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz.

The "God of Carnage" cast includes Cornell students Olivia Powell '14, Angela Carbone '15, Andrew Baim '13 and Skyler Schain '13.

"One exciting aspect of majoring in Performing and Media Arts is the opportunity to put classroom skills into practice in front of an audience," said Melanie Dreyer-Lude, assistant professor of acting/directing and Turk's mentor for this project. "These projects simulate a professional environment, allowing students to puzzle through the challenges and rewards of mounting a full length production (under faculty supervision)."

For more information about Schwartz Center events this season, visit the Center for the Performing Arts online or call 607-254-ARTS.

Kathy Hovis is communications manager for the Department of Performing and Media Arts.