Theatre History Commons^™

Witness For The Prosecution

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1984 performance of Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie.

Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of a trial of a man named Leonard Vole for the murder of a wealthy older woman who made him her principle heir. During the trial his wife, Romaine, comes to testify not in his defense, but on the side of the prosecution.

J.B.

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1984 performance of J.B. by Archibald MacLeish.

J.B. is a retelling of the Biblical story of Job by two old circus performers by the name of Zuss and Nickles (Zeus and Satan), who make a wager and play out Job’s story in modern America where Job is a millionaire named J.B..

Summer And Smoke

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams.

Summer and Smoke is the story of a high strung young woman named Alma Winemiller, and the spiritual/sexual romance that nearly develops between her and John Buchanan Jr. who grew up next door.

The music used to accompany the performance was used in the original production.

The Diary Of Anne Frank

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett adapted from The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a dramatization of the diary entries of Anne Frank, a young Dutch-Jew who went into hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

Inherit The Wind

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1982 performance of Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawerence and Robert E. Lee.

Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial where a high school teacher named John T. Scopes was tried for teaching evolution against state law.

The Miracle Worker

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1981 performance of The Miracle Worker by William Gibson.

The Miracle Worker is based on the autobiography of Helen Keller.

The Children's Hour

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1980 performance of The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman.

The Children’s Hour is the story of a manipulative young girl named Mary and how she uses lies and gossip to control and destroy the lives of the two women who run her boarding school.

Our Town

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1979 performance of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

Our Town tells the story of a small, fictional American town called Grover’s Corners through the everyday lives of its citizens. The play is set as a play performing in Grover’s Corners and uses metatheatrical elements.

The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1978 performance of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is the story of Cora Flood, the wife of a traveling salesman. Learning that her husband might have an affair with another woman, she plans to leave the marriage. When her husband returns, having lost his job, Cora must decide how to respond.

No Exit

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1976 performance of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartés. In French the term is the equivalent of the legal term “in camera”, which refers to a private discussion behind closed doors.

No Exit is the story of three strangers set in a nicely furnished room in Hell, where they are set to torment each other through their perceptions of their fellow prisoners.

American Primitive

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1974 performance of American Primitive by William Gibson.

American Primitive is constructed from the correspondence of John and Abigail Adams and tells their story during the period of the American Revolution.

The Glass Menagerie

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1974 performance of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play narrated and led by a young man named Tom, who recounts life with his mother Amanda and sister Laura. The play has strong autobiographical elements of the playwright Tennessee and his experience growing up with his mother and sister.

Antigone

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1972 performance of Antigone by Sophocles, (translated by Jean Anouilh).

In this story, the bold yet cursed princess Antigone, daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, chooses to confront her unmovable uncle/king about his decision to dishonor her brother by refusing his burial. Her choice to defy him shocks the entire city of Thebes. Ultimately, all concerned, including the audience, are forced to wrestle with the relationship of divine law to human laws.

This is one of three plays performed at Eastbrook Middle School Cafetorium because of the destruction of Shreiner Auditorium in Helena Music Hall. …

Cry Of Dawn In Dark Babylon

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1968 performance of Cry Dawn in Dark Babylon by P. W. Turner.

From the playbill: “According to the author, this is a play about death, the Resurrection and the Church. It is a true story, based on his own experience as a pastor in an industrial parish in England.”

Performed by the Taylor Religious Drama Company. It was second of three projects developed by the class for the semester.

The Master Builder

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1966 performance of The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen.

The Master Builder tells the story of Halvard Solness, the master builder in a small Norway town who meets a young woman whom he made advances on early in life and takes into his home.

This show was performed by the Faculty Readers reader’s theater.

Hedda Gabler

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1965 performance of Hebba Gabler by Henrik Ibsen.

Hebba Gabler is the story of newlywed Hedda Tesman and her reunion with a former lover and how she manipulates events to secure and create a life for herself with her husband.

The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1963 performance of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is the story of Cora Flood, the wife of a traveling salesman. Learning that her husband might have an affair with another woman, she plans to leave the marriage. When her husband returns, having lost his job, Cora must decide how to respond.

The Heiress

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1963 performance of The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from the 1880 Henry James novel Washington Square.

The Heiress tells the story of Catherine Sloper, a rather plain-looking woman set to receive a large inheritance from her father. When a man comes to court her, her father suspects it is for the money and attempts to thwart his plan.

Right You Are

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1963 performance of Right You Are by Luigi Pirandello, translated by Eric Bentley.

Right You Are is the story of Mr. Ponza and his mother-in-law, Lady Frola, and the attempt by their village to determine the truth behind their story, as each claims the other is insane.

The Hasty Heart

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1961 performance of The Hasty Heart by John Patrick.

The Hasty Heart tells the story of a group of Allied soldiers in a temporary British hospital after World War II, and their efforts to befriend a rather distant soldier with a terminal illness.

J.B.

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1961 performance of J.B. by Archibald MacLeish.

J.B. is a retelling of the Biblical story of Job by two old circus performers by the name of Zuss and Nickles (Zeus and Satan), who make a wager and play out Job’s story in modern America where Job is a millionaire named J.B..

This was part of the 1961 Fine Arts Festival and performed in Maytag Auditorium.

The Glass Menagerie

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1961 performance of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play narrated and led by a young man named Tom, who recounts life with his mother Amanda and sister Laura. The play has strong autobiographical elements of the playwright Tennessee and his experience growing up with his mother and sister.

Anastasia

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1958 performance of Anastasia by Marcelle Maurette.

Anastasia is based on the legend of the sole-surviving daughter of Russia’s last Czar. In 1926 Berlin, young Anya, suicidal and suffering amnesia, is chosen to impersonate Anastasia in a scam to collect ten million pounds promised to the missing heiress.

The Late Christopher Bean

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1958 performance of The Late Christopher Bean by Sidney Howard.

The Late Christopher Bean is the story of a not well-off family who discovered they have inherited the paintings from an artists whose work has become very valuable, and how their greed impacts their home.

The Robe

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1957 performance of The Robe adapted by John McGreevey from Lloyd C. Douglas’s work of the same name.

The Robe tells the story of Marcellus, a young Roman officer who wins the robe of Jesus when he is crucified, and how Marcellus’s life is changed after that encounter.

The Merchant Of Venice

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1940 performance of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

The Merchant of Venice is a story of a Venice merchant named Antonio who must pay off a loan to a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.

"Rosemary--For Remembrance"

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1940 performance of “Rosemary—For Rememberance.” A Romantic Drama in Three Acts by Priscilla Wayne and Wayne Sprague.

Forever True

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1939 performance of Forever True by Priscilla Wayne Sprague.

The Lone Eagle

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1937 performance of The Lone Eagle by Charles E. Roach.

Presented by the Play-Production Class.

Smilin' Through

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1935 performance of Smilin’ Through by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin (under the pseudonym, Allan Langdon Martin).

Smilin’ Through tells the story of a young Irish woman, Kathleen Dungannon and her romantic relationship with Kenneth Wayne, which is opposed by her adopted father, still bitter about a failed relationship with Kathleen’s aunt years before.