TYR Mainstage Presents

Up The Down Staircase

Sylvia Barrett, an idealistic new teacher at an inner-city high school, hopes to nurture her students' interest in classic literature. However, in the face of bureaucracy, indifference from her students, and the incompetence of many of her colleagues, Ms. Barrett soon finds herself wondering if she makes any difference at all. Throughout her difficult first year she tries to forge connections with colleagues who seem to have all but given up on trying, as well as with troubled students whose distrust in authority is deeply engrained.

Exploring the theme of personal isolation amid societal expectations, both in the students and the teachers within a school, this show manages to be both funny and unflinchingly honest.

Directed by Tyler Null 

Script by Christopher Sergel 
Book by Bel Kaufman

Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatic Publishing