Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

The Shrike, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Jim Downs is brought to the psychiatric division of City Hospital after a suicide attempt. With the help of his estranged wife, who is with him night and day, he recovers. But this does not mean he is free to go home. His estranged wife conspires to keep Jim in the hospital until he renounces his girlfriend and agrees to go back with her. In the process, Jim is faced with well-meaning but inept institutional psychiatrists, who themselves have become victims of deadly routine. Through one test after another he is made to prove his sanity, until he almost loses …

The Circle, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Rich in humor, conflict and depth, The Circle follows Lady Kitty, who had given up a stuffy life with her titled husband to run away with a young adventurer, as she watches her niece, Elizabeth about to make the same mistake 20 years later.

https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/4687/the-circle

Mister Angel, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Stacy and Lydia Bolton, a husband-and-wife team of actor-producers, have everything except children. They are always on tour and children have to wait. They have just chosen a new play by their friend Daphne, with a magnificent role for Lydia. But Little Item, a girl angel, has been waiting for ten years to be born to Lydia, and if the Boltons haven't decided to have her yet they never will. So the angel Charles and his assistant, Gloria, are sent to Earth to bring Little Item back. But Item won't go. Charles, disobeying orders, decides to make another effort. Knowing …

Antigone, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Based on a Greek myth, Sophocles' Antigone embodies a timeless portrayal of the conflict between good and evil. The play portrays this struggle through a single incident but actually it represents all rebellion against oppression. Creon stands for inhuman forces--the reign of terror imposed by an dictatorship. Opposing him is Antigone, who rebels against the blasphemy of the unburied dead. By doing so, she cries out against Godlessness and indecency.

It is interesting to note that Anouihl's adaption of Antigone in 1943 symbolizes the German occupation of France--the new order with its promise of prosperity and happiness in exchange for …

The Heiress, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The background of the play is New York in the 1850s and the basic story tells of a shy and plain young girl, Catherine Sloper, who falls desperately in love with a delightful young fortune hunter. Catherine's lack of worldliness prevents her from realizing that the young man proposing to her is not entirely drawn to her by her charm. Catherine's father, a successful doctor, sees through the fortune hunter and forbids the marriage, but his daughter proposes an elopement that fails to materialize because the young man knows most of her expected fortune will go elsewhere if he marries …

The Student Prince, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The Student Prince sings its way serenly down the years as the show that epitomises pure romance. The Prince, Karl Franz, is sent to University at Heidelberg to finish his studies. There, among fruit blossom and fellow students, he meets and falls deliriously in love with the daughter of the innkeeper, Kathie.

https://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_s/student_prince.htm

The Bat, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

In this popular American mystery play, incident is piled on incident with skill and plausibility, and it is impossible to know who the real criminal is until the final curtain. This thriller revolves around Cornelia Van Gorder, a maiden lady of sixty, who rents the summer home of a banker reported killed in Colorado. She is warned that mysterious things are happening but she refuses to move. Then it is discovered that a large sum is missing from the dead man's bank and it is suspected that, far from being dead, he stole the money, hid it in a secret …

Winterset, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Mio, believing that his father was innocent of the crime for which he was executed, pursues his long search for proof of his innocence. Following new evidence, his path crosses that of Miriamne, a strange creature who lives with her family in the shadow of a towering bridge. The young people are drawn together through the tragedy of Mio's father, and the boy's bitterness prevents each from giving himself wholly to the other. Mio must first recover his self respect and the right to love. His problem is complicated when it is learned that Miriamne's brother, Garth, might have testified …

Blithe Spirit, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The smash comedy hit of the London and Broadway stages, this much-revived classic from the playwright of Private Lives offers up fussy, cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, re-married but haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife, the clever and insistent Elvira who is called up by a visiting “happy medium,” one Madame Arcati. As the (worldly and un-) personalities clash, Charles’ current wife, Ruth, is accidentally killed, “passes over,” joins Elvira, and the two “blithe spirits” haunt the hapless Charles into perpetuity.

https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2823/blithe-spirit

Craig's Wife, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

A scathing and insightful work by one of the masters of American drama. Mrs. Harriet Craig, a woman of controlling will and vanity, succeeds in driving away her husband, friends, and anyone close to her, all for the sake of her pride. A tense and biting satire on the darker side of human nature from the celebrated author of The Silver Cord and They Knew What They Wanted.

https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/5485/craigs-wife

Two Blind Mice, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The Office of Medicinal Herbs of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, manages to persist because no one realizes that it was abolished years ago, but no official steps have been taken to close it. Two nice old ladies run this department, but never answer the phone for fear of discovery. The are really interested in helping people, and are too scrupulous to cash the salary checks which are automatically sent to them. They manage to exist by renting parts of their office to a pants presser and a dance teacher, and by collecting fees from a parking lot nearby. …

The Miser, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Satire and farce blend in the fast-moving plot, as when the miser's hoard is stolen. Asked by the police magistrate whom he suspects, Harpagon replies, “Everybody! I wish you to take into custody the whole town and suburbs” and indicates the theatre audience while doing so. The play also makes fun of certain theatrical conventions, such as the spoken aside addressed to the audience, hitherto ignored by the characters onstage. The characters of L'Avare, however, generally demand to know who exactly is being spoken to.

The Miser. (2017, July 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:08, September 26, …

Goodbye, My Fancy, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

A Broadway hit about a liberal Congresswoman who returns to her old school as an honorary visitor. Since her wartime experiences in Europe, she has devoted herself to the task of acquainting people with the horrors of war. That is why she has brought a documentary with her to be shown to the young graduates. The movie is considered harsh and improper by the trustees, so she has a fight on her hands. The conflict exposes the university president as a spineless and irresolute figure, instead of the upstanding and outspoken professor with whom Miss Reed thought she had been …

The Corn Is Green, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Miss Moffat settles in a remote Welsh mining village and starts a school for the local boys, one of whom, Morgan Evans, shows great promise. Miss Moffat determin's to do everything to help Morgan's application for a scholarship to Oxford. But Morgan rebels against help from a woman and falls prey to the flashy charms of Bessie Watty. His chances of success are almost destroyed but Miss Moffat's courageous wisdom and her affection for him win the day and Morgan wins the'scholarship.

https://www.samuelfrench.co.uk/p/10885/the-corn-is-green

John Loves Mary, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

John Lawrence, who has been overseas three years, is welcomed home by the charming Mary McKinley. These two are and have been in love with each other. John's life had been saved while he was overseas by his buddy Fred Taylor. Fred returned home a year before John, and John brings him what should be a pleasant surprise—news that he has married Lily, an English girl Fred had fallen in love with and who could not hope to get to America for years unless as the wife of a G.I. John therefore marries her and plans to deliver her to …

The Winslow Boy, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The action of the play takes place in the Winslow family home in Kensington, London, in the years immediately before the First World War. The fourteen-year-old Ronnie Winslow has been expelled from naval college, accused of the theft of a postal order. The boy remains adamant that he is innocent. Enraged, his father Arthur engages a leading lawyer, Sir Robert Morton, to challenge the Admiralty to prove the charges in court. The play follows Arthur’s attempts to clear his son’s name, even in the face of public opposition and weakening resolve. Each member of the family suffers as the case …

Twelfth Night, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centers on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (who is disguised as Cesario) falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with the Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man. The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements …

On Whitman Avenue, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

A black family meets strong opposition, and only limited support, when they move into a white neighborhood, in Maxine Wood's play.

http://www.playbill.com/production/on-whitman-avenue-cort-theatre-vault-0000003576

My Man Godfrey, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

In the depths of the Depression, Godfrey, a "forgotten man," is rescued from his packing-crate home by ditzy socialite Irene Bullock during the course of a scavenger hunt. Irene offers Godfrey a job as butler to the banking family of Bullocks. Godfrey tolerates their eccentricities, alcoholism and general nuttiness. He cures hangovers, dodges missiles thrown by Irene's jealous sister, Cornelia, and charms matronly Angelica Bullock, who sees pixies every morning. Irene and Molly, the pert Irish maid, both fall in love with Godfrey, but for Irene it's serious—and she's determined to get her man. Falsely accused by Cornelia of stealing …

The Butter And Egg Man, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

One of the most popular Broadway successes. A delightful satirical comedy about a seemingly simple country boy who came to New York and broke into the play producing game. But the young "butter-and-egg man" is somewhat more astute than he looks, and in the end is instrumental in turning a "flop" into what is known in the game as a "wow." The plot rises to the heights of satirical comedy in the second act where the production is discussed by the cast and backers. The play starts out with a tremendous stride and continues right up to the fall of …

The Fool, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

This play made theatrical history. Presented simultaneously by six companies in America and two in England; enthusiastically endorsed by schools and churches, it has been read or witnessed by millions of people, all over the world, and is still on the "required reading" list of colleges and universities. It deals with a young clergyman who resolves to try "What would happen now-a-days to a man who lived like Christ?" Through a series of intensely dramatic incidents, he learns that such a man might lose the world, but would find happiness. The incident of the healing of the little crippled girl, …

But Not Goodbye, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The entire action of the play takes place between 7 and 9:30 in the evening of a summer in 1910. Sam Griggs dies in the first act. Immediately Sam's spirit, however, descends to the living room in great anxiety, because Sam has passes on not only leaving his wife and daughter penniless but having misappropriated his son's savings for a speculative venture. Moreover, he has kept his speculation a secret and the real estate investment has been made in the name of his partner. Sam, in the living room, encounters the spirit of his father, who had been killed in …

Deep Are The Roots, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The play tells the story of Brett Charles, a decorated African-American lieutenant in the U.S. Army, who returns to his small hometown in the Deep South at the end of World War II. Brett has been treated like an equal in Europe, with men under his command, and slipping back into the shuffling role of "boy" is not something he's about to do. The liberal-minded Alice Langdon, daughter of a conservative U.S. senator, has been Brett's champion throughout his life, and she has plans for him to go to college in the North. Brett prefers to stay, however, and work …

Our Town, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

This edition of the play differs only slightly from previous acting editions, yet it presents Our Town as Thornton Wilder wished it to be performed. Described by Edward Albee as “…the greatest American play ever written,” the story follows the small town of Grover’s Corners through three acts: “Daily Life,” “Love and Marriage,” and “Death and Eternity.” Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually – in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre – die. Thornton Wilder’s …

Laura, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

When Mark McPherson first falls in love with Laura, he knows he's in love with a phantom—for Laura is dead, and he's in charge of her murder investigation. From her portrait, her letters, her personal effects and from his contacts with the three men who loved her, Mark has created an image of a woman tantalizingly alive and real. When she appears in the midst of a thunderstorm, very much alive after all, it is revealed that Laura's best friend (and rival) was the true victim of the crime. But now, all evidence seems to point to Laura's guilt. Despite …

Papa Is All, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

A cheerful comedy about the Pennsylvania Dutch. Papa's an ugly tempered tyrant with religious scruples against conveniences and pleasures of all kinds. Emma, the daughter, is in love with a surveyor who wants to marry her. Son Jake wants to simplify farm life by the installation of machinery. Mama, though resigned to accepting Papa's word, is wistful for the friendly association with neighbors that's part of even the most orthodox Mennonite life. The offspring suspect Papa's scruples are merely a way of keeping them as the farm's forced slave labor. Emma with Mama's connivance steals off to a movie with …

Each In His Time, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The Commencement play "Each In His Time" written by Evelyn Edwards Bale (Class of 1930) and Dr. Robert Price and produced by Professor J. F. Smith (Class of 1910) was one of the high points in the Centennial celebration. Characters of the early years in Otterbein's life were made to live again and to speak the language of their generations. Especially painted scenery and authentic costumes added much to the settings.

The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

Falstaff decides to fix his financial woe by seducing the wives of two wealthy merchants. The wives find he sent them identical letters and take revenge by playing tricks on Falstaff when he comes calling. With the help of their husbands and friends, the wives play one last trick in the woods to put Falstaff's mischief to an end.

https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/merry-wives-windsor/

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

In one of the most famous of literary love quadrangles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream tells the tale of Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander, and Helena; four misguided lovers whose journey into the woods lands them in even more trouble, as members of the fairy kingdom decide to use them as veritable pawns in their own love games. Against the backdrop of the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, and the fiery battle of wills between the Fairy King and Queen, Oberon and Titania, the four lovers are challenged by magic and trickery to finally work out what love is all about.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/450/a-midsummer-nights-dream

Give Me Credit, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

No abstract provided.