Acting Commons^™

The Foreigner, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1986 Summer Theatre

The Foreigner is a fun, two-act comedy by American playwright Larry Shue. The story takes place in a fishing lodge in rural Tilghman County, Georgia where two Englishmen, Froggy and Charlie, arrive as guests. Theshy Charlie agreed to accompany Froggy on the trip after his sick wife begged him to go.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/354/the-foreigner

Plenty, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1986 Summer Theatre

Hare's inspiration for Plenty came from the fact that 75 per cent of the women engaged in wartime SOE operations divorced in the immediate post-war years; the title is derived from the idea that the post-war era would be a time of "plenty", which proved untrue for most of England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plenty_(play)

Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1986 Summer Theatre

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway production ran for four years and spawned international and regional productions, as well as a West End production and Off-Broadway revival, among others. A film adaptation was released in 1975.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Brel_is_Alive_and_Well_and_Living_in_Paris

Ah, Wilderness!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1986 Summer Theatre

Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theater on October 2, 1933. It varies from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a happy family in turn of the century America. It is O'Neill's only well-known comedy. Ah, Wilderness!. (2017, April 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:10, May 23, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ah,_Wilderness!&oldid=777914403

Murder On The Nile, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985 Summer Theatre

Take heart mystery buffs, once again we close our season with our old friend Agatha Christie. This time we find ourselves on a paddle steamer on the Nile River with the usual collection of intriguing characters and enough twists and turns in the plot to keep us on the edge of our seats.

The Good Doctor, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985 Summer Theatre

Neil Simon has collaborated with Anton Chekhov to produce a warm, tender and very funny evening of theatre. The play is a series of nine vignettes linked together by The Writer (played by guest artist Dennis Romer), who offers wise and droll comment on the characters he has created. The sketches offer an appealing balance of hilarious and poignant moments.

Don't Drink The Water, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

Don't Drink the Water is a comedy play written by Woody Allen. Written and set in The '60s, the play bases itself around the Cold War. In an unnamed European country behind the Iron Curtain, the American Ambassador must leave the Embassy for business. In his absence he places his incompetent son Axel Magee in charge. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/DontDrinkTheWater

The Liar, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

Géronte, Dorante's father, announces to his son that he has found a girl for him to marry (Clarice). ... After more fabrications and complications (Dorante revealing that his "wife" is pregnant), Géronte is infuriated to discover that he was lied to; Dorante eventually tells the truth and the plot is resolved happily. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Liar_(Corneille_play)

Move Over Mrs. Markham, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

Philip Markham, a publisher of children’s books, is asked by his business partner, Henry Lodge, if he can borrow the flat for the evening to gallivant with his latest girlfriend. As Philip and his wife will be out, he reluctantly agrees. At the same time, Joanna Markham is being persuaded by Linda Lodge to let her borrow the empty flat in order to entertain her lover. What nobody knows is that the interior designer who has been decorating the flat for the past three months has decided that this is the night that he and the au pair girl will …

Charlie Brown, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

The story of the play itself is told through a series of vignettes that mimic the four-panel format used by the original cartoon strip, "Peanuts." This panel format is supplemented with longer passages that are vaguely reminiscent of Shakespearean soliloquies and by musical interludes.

The scope of the play is described as an average day in the life of Charlie Brown and is broken into two acts. https://www.bard.org/study-guides/synopsis-youre-a-good-man-charlie-brown

The Importance Of Being Earnest (1975), Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. It's the story of two bachelors, John 'Jack' Worthing and Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. www.importanceofbeingearnest.co.uk/synopsis/

My Fair Lady, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969-1970 Season

My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. The original Broadway, London and film versions all starred Rex Harrison.

My Fair Lady. (2017, July 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:22, September 1, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Fair_Lady&oldid=789985734

The Prince And The Pauper, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969-1970 Season

The Prince and the Pauper tells the tale of two boys who trade clothing one afternoon and, as a result, they trade lives as well. After many adventures, matters are set right again, with one of the boys resuming his rightful, royal position and the other boy accepting a position that recognizes his innate intelligence and good heartedness.

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/p/the-prince-and-the-pauper/book-summary

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969-1970 Season

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. Set in the "plantation home in the Mississippi Delta" of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, the play examines the relationships among members of Big Daddy's family, primarily between his son Brick and Maggie the "Cat", Brick's wife.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof features motifs such as social mores, greed, superficiality, mendacity, decay, sexual desire, repression and death. Dialogue throughout is often rendered phonetically to represent accents …

Thurber Carnival, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969 Summer Theatre

A Thurber Carnival is a revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories, cartoons and casuals (humorous short pieces), nearly all of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. It was directed by Burgess Meredith. Following a six city tryout, during which Thurber continued to rewrite the show, it premiered on Broadway on February 26, 1960, and ran for 223 performances, with a break from June 25 to September 5. It closed on November 26, 1960. The title is similar to that of The Thurber Carnival (1945), Thurber's most successful collection of stories and drawings.

A Thurber …

Bus Stop, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969 Summer Theatre

Bus Stop takes place inside "a street-corner restaurant in a small Kansas town about thirty miles west of Kansas City." Due to icy conditions, an inter-state bus is forced to stop for the night. One by one, the bus passengers are introduced, each with their own quirks and conflicts.

https://www.thoughtco.com/bus-stop-a-comedy-william-inge-2713669

The Music Man, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1968-1969 Season

The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to the naïve Iowa townsfolk, promising to train the members of the new band. Harold is no musician, however, and plans to skip town without giving any music lessons. Prim librarian and piano teacher Marian sees through him, but when Harold helps her younger brother overcome his lisp and social awkwardness, Marian begins to fall …

A Man For All Seasons, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1968-1969 Season

A Man For All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt based on the life of Sir Thomas More. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.

The plot is based on the true story of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse King Henry VIII's wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not bear him …

The Subject Was Roses, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1968-1969 Season

Timmy Cleary returns home from his service during World War II. While he seems to vindicate himself in his father's eyes for surviving the war, his drinking and cursing disturb his mother. Though his parents, John and Nettie, seem to be happy, the peace proves to be a facade. Soon old emotional wounds and unresolved marital problems resurface. Caught in the middle, Timmy feels responsible for their squabbling, but can see no way to resolve their problems.

The Subject Was Roses. (2016, October 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:46, September 1, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Subject_Was_Roses&oldid=747012293

Peter Pan, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1968-1969 Season

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside Neverland.

Peter Pan. (2017, August 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:33, September 1, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Pan&oldid=798044874

1964-1965 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

1963-1964 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

1962-1963 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The Glass Menagerie, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

The Glass Menagerie opened in New York City at the Playhouse Theatre on March 31, 1945, and closed after 563 performances.

Thomas Lanier (Tennessee) Williams was born in 1914 in Columbus, Mississippi, the son of a traveling shoe salesman and an Episcopal clergyman's daughter. At the age of 13 his family moved to St. Louis and it was here that his sister Rose began a collection of glass animals. After failing out of the University of Missouri, he attended the State University of Iowa, studying play writing under E.C.Mabie. During the early 1940's he wrote many one act plays. The …

1961-1962 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Squaring The Circle, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1958-1959 Season

A hilarious Comedy from Soviet Russia about two mismated couples who are obliged to live in a single room because of the acute housing shortage. Each of the girls turns her half of the room into a symbol of her own mind. On one side is the Spartan bareness of an earnest Communist; on the other, the comforts of the bourgeois. But the husbands do not feel at ease in their halves, each hankering for the woman and atmosphere on the other side. This basic story, with incidents that make it one continuous laugh, is not without its serious implications. …

Oklahoma!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1958-1959 Season

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The musical is set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.

The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box-office smash and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances. Oklahoma!. (2017, April 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:06, May 23, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oklahoma!&oldid=776919771

The Rainmaker, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

At the time of a paralyzing drought in the West we discover a girl whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her potential future as an old maid as they are about their dying cattle. For the truth is, she is indeed a plain girl. The brothers try every possible scheme to marry her off, without success. Nor is there any sign of relief from the dry heat, when suddenly, from out of nowhere, appears a picaresque, sweet-talking man with quite the sales pitch. Claiming to be a “rainmaker,” the man promises to bring rain, for $100. …

Barretts Of Wimpole Street, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

The scene is Elizabeth Barrett's room. Here she lives with her father, sisters and brothers. Never too healthy, she has been kept prisoner by her domineering father, who rules his family with unbelievable severity. Her brothers and sisters are reconciled to their father's tyranny, but Elizabeth has in her a spark of rebellion. This is set off by the romantic young Robert Browning, who has known her through her poetry. He bursts upon the Barrett household and in the first scene with Elizabeth proclaims his deep love for her. When Elizabeth realizes that she is attracted to the young poet, …

Angel Street, Otterbein University

1907-1958 Productions

A Broadway hit first produced on the West End under the title Gaslight and filmed twice,Angel Streettells the story of the Manninghams, who live on Angel Street in 19th century London. As the curtain rises, all appears to be the essence of Victorian tranquility. It is soon apparent, however, that Mr. Manningham, a suavely handsome man, is slowly driving his gentle, devoted wife, Bella, to the brink of insanity with an insinuating kindness that masks more sinister motives. While he is out, Mrs. Manningham has an unexpected caller: amiable, paternal Inspector Rough from Scotland Yard. Rough is convinced …