Amy Cahill, left, a graduate student from Olathe, and Sylvia Stoner, a graduate student from Shawnee, rehearse Street

The drama of everyday life in 1920s New York City comes to the stage starting Friday at University Theatre.

“Street Scene” is an opera based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Elmer Rice and with a libretto by Langston Hughes, the former Lawrence resident and renowned poet.

The story follows the lives of four characters in a tenement house. It concerns two plot lines: the romance between Rose and her neighbor, Sam, and the marital affair of Rose’s mother, Ana, which is eventually discovered by her irritable husband, Frank.

The show is a cross-section of urban characters and the romance, squabbles and gossip they deal with daily.

The opera, which won a Tony Award for Best Original Score, is being directed by New York director Tazewell Thompson, with David Neely, KU’s director of orchestral activities, leading the 60-piece Symphony Orchestra in the production.

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Nov. 13, 14 and 15. A matinee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $20 for the public, $10 for students and $19 for senior citizens, KU faculty and staff. They are available at the University Theatre box office, 864-3982; the Lied Center, 864-2787; and the Student Union Activities office, 864-7469. They also are available online at www.kutheatre.com.