Dance Commons^™

Middletown, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Will Eno’s Middletown, or maybe more appropriately, Everytown, is a very insightful look at the alienation, loneliness and subtle despair that lives at the edges of contemporary life. It also examines the accumulation, and effects, of the small and seemingly insignificant moments of our lives, that in an instant can change our lives.

Rent, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015-2016 Season

This musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, follows a group of New Yorkers as they struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community. Mark,an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger (Adam Pascal), an HIV-positive musician, scramble for money to pay rent to their landlord and former roommate, Benny (Taye Diggs). Meanwhile, their friend Tom (Jesse L. Martin), a professor, has fallen for Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), who is slowly dying of AIDS. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/plotsummary

2015 - 2016 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The All Night Strut!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

The All Night Strut! moves through the Depression, World War II and the post-war boom in a two-act musical celebration of the 1930s and '40s, filled with jazz, blues, bebop and American songbook standards. Weaving together the work of legendary songwriters such as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Cab Calloway and the Gershwins, the story moves through time and place to highlight a slick slice of yesteryear and capture a beloved American era.

https://www.mtishows.com/the-all-night-strut

The Nerd, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

Set in Terre Haute, Indiana in late 1979, The Nerd centers on the hilarious dilemma of a young architect who is visited by Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who saved has life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam. Willum is delighted when Rick shows up unexpectedly at his apartment on the night of his thirty-fourth birthday party. However, Rick's awkward manner and inappropriate behavior throw the occasion into shambles. It turns out that Rick is a stupid nerd who overstays his welcome with a vengeance.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/2064/the-nerd

Clybourne Park, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about the politics of race. In response to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, playwright Bruce Norris set up Clybourne Park as a pair of scenes that bookend Hansberry’s piece. These two scenes, fifty years apart, are both set in the same modest bungalow on Chicago’s northwest side that features at the center of A Raisin in the Sun. The first scene takes place before and the second scene takes place after the events of A Raisin in …

2015 Otterbein Summer Theatre Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Into The Woods, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Griimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood,", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family (the original beginning of The Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel), their interaction with a witch who has …

The Greeks: The Murders, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

No abstract provided.

Dance 2014: Tell Tale Poe, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Mystery and Macabre...Beauty and Horror...Love and Abandonment...Edgar Allen Poe has been documented as a complex genius who found both beauty and horror in the world and then described all of it in his abundance of writings. In honor of this man and his genius we have joined a group of artists and visionaries in dance, sound, lighting, costuming, and digital projections to create a portrait of sensations, sweet sound and the wild beauty of Poe's echoing and enduring dreams.

Sweet Charity, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Charity Hope Valentine always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal, but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist, it turns out that she may have finally met her match.

2014 - 2015 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Dames At Sea, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014 Summer Theatre

When talented young hopeful Ruby arrives in New York City with nothing but a pair of tap shoes in her suitcase, she is determined to break into show business. She stumbles into the cast of troubled show “Dames at Sea”, in which broke and pessimistic producer Hennesey is terrorized by Mona Kent, the aggressive, seductive, and surprisingly shady leading lady. Dames at Sea is a light, bright, and hilariously tuneful homage to the glamorous and hopeful movie musicals of the 1930s. https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2374/dames-at-sea

The 39 Steps, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014 Summer Theatre

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have the intriguing, thrilling, riotous and unmissable comedy. The show hurtles a notorious fugitive and a spellbound blonde from a London music hall north by northwest to Scotland’s most remote highlands. Will they save Britain from a den of devious spies? A cast of four actors plays over 150 characters in this fast-paced tale of an ordinary man on an extraordinarily entertaining adventure. The 39 Steps contains every single legendary scene from the award-winning movie — including the chase on the Flying Scotsman, …

The Fantasticks, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014 Summer Theatre

Whimsical, poignant, and romantic, The Fantasticks is an allegorical story that focuses on two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the journey we all must take through adolescent thrills, the growing pains of hurt and betrayal, the highs of passion, the challenges of distance, and the agonies of heartbreak to discover how to truly love. The Fantasticks is a gem of the American musical theatre. Featuring timeless classics like “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” this simple and beautiful ensemble piece is as beloved and as timely as it was when it opened over 50 years ago. https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1377/the-fantasticks

The Full Monty, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

Six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York are miserable. They have no cash and no prospects. Meanwhile, they catch their wives and other women going crazy over male strippers. The six men then set out to make some quick cash showing off their "real man" bodies by becoming a team of male strippers. As the guys work through their fears, self-consciousness and anxieties they find strength as a group and overcome their inner demons.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2441/the-full-monty

The Importance Of Being Earnest (2014), Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

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/

Dance 2013: Once Again, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

No abstract provided.

Speed-The-Plow, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

Speed-the-Plow is another of Mamet's business plays, this one exploring the relationship between business and art. Bobby and Charlie are film producers who are considering greenlighting the script for a prison buddy movie that they believe will be a huge blockbuster. Bobby has been reading an apocalyptically spiritual novel that has deep meaning, but Charlie points out that this book would never make a great movie. After the temp, Karen, leaves the office, Charlie bets Bobby that he cannot get her into bed. When she returns, Bobby asks her to read the novel and give him her thoughts later. That …

Les Misérables, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

One of the world’s most iconic and longest-running musicals, Les Misérablestells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict who spends a lifetime seeking redemption. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France and the aftermath of the French Revolution, this timeless story of intertwined destinies reveals the power of compassion and the quiet evil of indifference to human suffering. As Valjean’s quest for a new life carries him into Paris and to the barricades of the Student Revolution, he is hunted by Inspector Javert and the ghosts of his past. Amidst a battle for the soul of Paris, he …

Little Shop Of Horrors, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013 Summer Theatre

Little Shop of Horrors is a delectable sci-fi horror musical with an electrifying 1960s pop/rock score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Seymour Krelborn is a meek and dejected assistant at a floral shop who happens upon a strange plant, which he affectionately names “Audrey II” after his crush at the shop. Little does he know that this strange and unusual plant will develop a soulful R&B voice, a potty mouth, and an unquenchable thirst for HUMAN BLOOD.

As Audrey II grows bigger and meaner, the carnivorous plant promises limitless fame and fortune to Seymour, as long as he continues …

Boeing Boeing, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013 Summer Theatre

A hit comedy similar in vein to Shakespeare’s comedies of merry misadventures and mistaken identities, Boeing Boeing tells the exploits of French bachelor Bernard and his lovely female flight attendants. Three flight attendants, to be exact, from three different countries: and they all believe they’re engaged to Bernard! In the past, Bernard has been able to juggle these women due to his detailed timetable of his fiancés’ flight schedules. When the situation changes and all of the women end up at his apartment on the same day, Bernard (with help from his bewildered friend Robert) struggles to keep them from …

Almost, Maine, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013 Summer Theatre

A woman carries her heart, broken into nineteen pieces, in a small paper bag. A man shrinks to half his former size, after losing hope in love. A couple keep the love they have given each other in large red bags, or compress the mass into the size of a diamond. These playful and surreal experiences are commonplace in the world of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine, where on one deeply cold and magical Midwinter Night, the citizens of Almost -- not organized enough for a town, too populated for a wilderness -- experience the life-altering power of the human …

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

No abstract provided.

After The Fall, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

In the early stages of a new love, paralyzing memories of past relationships haunt Quentin, a liberal New York attorney who questions his own ability to truly connect with the women in his life. Arthur Miller’s most personal and autobiographical play, After the Fall, unflinchingly tackles the emotional brutality that can unfold within a marriage, against a national backdrop of McCarthyism and the commodification of celebrity. In doing so, Miller unravels the political complications in personal relationships while exposing the personal consequences of big-issue politics.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/5665/after-the-fall

Spring Awakening, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

Based on Frank Wedekind’s groundbreaking and controversial play (once banned in Germany), Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s brilliant rock score and searingly emotional book take the story of sexual awakening, youth revolt, and self-discovery into a new century. It’s 1891, and grown-ups hold all the cards. Headstrong Melchior and naive Wendla stumble into each others’ arms, passionate and curious, while anxious Moritz struggles to live up to the stringent expectations of society. With only each other for guidance, this group of young men and women travel the fraught and rocky path of adolescence, discovering their bodies, their minds, and themselves …

Noises Off, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

Michael Frayn's Noises Off takes a fond look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss, and passionate affairs turn every performance into a high-risk adventure. This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Frayne gives us a window into the inner workings of theatre behind the scenes, progressing from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members in the final performance. Brimming with slapstick comedy, Noises …

Something's Afoot: A New Murder Mystery Musical, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012 Summer Theatre

Something's Afoot is a murder mystery musical that spoofs detective stories, mainly the works of Agatha Christie, and especially her detective novel And Then There Were None (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians). The play involves a group of people who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour, When the wealthy lord is found dead, it's a race against the clock to find out whodunnit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something%27s_Afoot

Dance 2012: Spotlight, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

No abstract provided.

Carnival!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

Lili, a lonely orphan, is enchanted with a traveling carnival troupe. She finally gets to join the troupe and ends up working with the puppet act. Meanwhile, both the puppeteer, Paul, and the magician, Marco the Magnificent, have fallen in love with Lili. The two men engage in a fierce rivalry for Lili’s affections. In the end, Lili chooses Paul and they live happily ever after.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2440/carnival