The Fresno State Theater Arts Department has achieved the almost impossible in the 2007-2008 season of addressing almost all of the major problems facing our society today and doing so with professionalism, a joie de vivre, and humor. We can be very proud of this department, and through it, of Fresno State University.

The year concluded with a musical: "Urinetown." As the racy title indicates, folks in a mythical town were being charged a fee for....well, you can guess it from the title. The class structure and conflict between labor and capital are the centerpiece of the drama. A ruthless dictator bribes the legislature, increases the fees, and plans to send his daughter to a private university. The oppressed groan under this tyranny, until freed by an unlikely combination of popular leader and the daughter of the oppressor.

The theme here is as old as Karl Marx in Das Kapital. Our own John Steinbeck in "Grapes of Wrath "and "To a God Unknown" tackle similar themes. And one only needs to look at the populist themes in today’s presidential primary politics to see the same themes: gas companies oppressing the public, lack of medical care due to drug and medical conglomerates.

The season started with "Polish Joke." Here a rather neglected theme is addressed: white on white prejudice. A Polish lad tries hard to hide his ethnicity, even ludicrously dressing as a Scottsman. Yet always fails. Society just has no place for a Polish descendant, as he was warned in the opening scene. Our national oppression of the Irish, Slavic Peoples, and locally the Armenians, are all called to mind. And these battles continue; all of us have heard ethnic jokes.

"Doubt" was a carefully balanced play dealing with the issue of molestation of minors by Catholic clergy. Two advocates in the faculty of a fictional school accuse and defend a clergyman. The problems of teaching and raising young men and women in schools is vividly portrayed. How can you be close to them and not be accused of molestation? Or did it actually occur? The audience never knew; instead you were left in “Doubt.” However, it is certain that this burning issue was addressed with skill and love.

In the 15th Century Spanish "La Celestina" the Theater Arts department produced a play the central theme of which isthe thwarted love of a young girl who reminds one of young Juliet courted by her Romeo. One only needs to look at contemporary tragedies, like the murder of a young high school girl in Madera, to see how much love and passion are a part of our lives five centuries later. And prostitution, pimps, and dominating parents have been there essentially forever; all were portrayed here.

The Portable Dance Troupe did an incredible job. After a series of wonderful dance numbers, they concluded with a number dealing with Nazi Germany between World War I and World War II. The happiness of a springtime world at peace slowly morphed into one dominated by war and genocide. You could just sense the happy dancing times of the 1920’s and with great sadness see them turn into horror. The final number ended with projection on the screen of the number of war dead: a vivid reminder of how the frothy women of Springtime Germany became the victims of war and mass destruction.

"Single Black Female" Looking dealt with the issue of an aging (by her terms, not mine!) black professional looking for a mate. Her search deeply moved to laughter the largely African American audience. Some of her potential mates, such as a Russian immigrant, lifted the whole theater to convulsions of laughter. And the problem of race was dealt with lightly, but it is ever-present in our society and is surely present in the dating scene. A spoof, but one dealing with marriage, finding mates, and inter-racial themes in a society in transition.

So there you have it: racial and ethnic prejudice, class warfare, priestly molestation, war and peace, and the dating scene. These are the central themes of today’s world, and they were all there this year in the Theater Arts Department.

Many folks, including me, have been critical of the Athletic Department at Fresno State. However, it is now time to look beyond that to the huge number of exciting things happening there. All of us would be well served to focus on the affirmative at FSU--and to get tickets for next season’s performances of the theater department, as I will surely do soon.