Dance Commons^™

The Matchmaker, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1975-1976 Season

Yonkers store-owner Horace Vandergelder refuses to allow his niece, Ermengarde, to marry Ambrose Kemper. He informs Ambrose that he is sending his niece away to stay with a friend, but Ambrose easily learns that she will be in New York City and plans to follow her there. Meanwhile, Horace has arranged for a matchmaker to find a wife for himself. https://www.bard.org/study-guides/synopsis-the-matchmaker

Hansel & Gretel (1975), Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

1975 Summer Theatre

No abstract provided.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974-1975 Season

A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams that received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.

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

Scapin, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974-1975 Season

Scapin constantly lies and tricks people to get ahead. He is an arrogant, pompous man who acts as if nothing were impossible for him. However, he is also a diplomatic genius. He manages to play the other characters off of each other very easily, and yet manages to keep his overall goal — to help the young couples — in sight.

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

The Wizard Of Oz, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974-1975 Season

No abstract provided.

Count Dracula, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974-1975 Season

This is a witty version of the story of a suave vampire whose passion is sinking teeth into the throats of young women. There are many surprising but uncomplicated stage effects including mysterious disappearances, secret panels, howling wolves and bats that fly over the audience. Magically, Dracula vanishes in full view of the spectators.

http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2218/count-dracula

Present Laughter, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974 Summer Theatre

Present Laughter follows a few days in the life of the successful and self-obsessed light comedy actor Garry Essendine as he prepares to travel for a touring commitment in Africa. Amid a series of events bordering on farce, Garry has to deal with women who want to seduce him, placate both his long-suffering secretary and his estranged wife, cope with a crazed young playwright, and overcome his impending mid-life crisis, since he has recently turned forty.

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

Kiss Me Kate, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973-1974 Season

Kiss Me, Kate is a musical that involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Me,_Kate

Three Men On A Horse, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973-1974 Season

Three Men on a Horse is a play about a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself.

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

Six Characters In Search Of An Author, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973-1974 Season

Tonight's production is Pirandello's play about six characters who were created by an author, but left incomplete. They now intrude upon a theatre rehearsal demanding that they be given life. At first, the troupe of players share their Director's view that they are mad. But as the pathetic dilemma of this wayward, disturbing family is unfolded, their reality imposes itself and commands consideration. Are they "real"? What is "real"? Is a person's role his identity? Eventually the Director and his company, you and I, are made to question some of our previously assumed certainties...

The Story Theatre Of Hans Christian Anderson, Otterbein Universitytheatre And Dance Department

1973-1974 Season

This performance includes play adaptations of Hans Christian Anderson's tales, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Princess and the Pea.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Otterbein Universitytheatre And Dance Department

1973-1974 Season

This was a mod-style production of William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

See How They Run, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973 Summer Theatre

See How They Run is an English comedy in three acts by Philip King. Its title is a line from the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice". It is considered a farce for its tense comic situations and headlong humour, heavily playing on mistaken identity, doors, and vicars. In 1955 it was adapted as a film starring Roland Culver.

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

Till Death Do Us... & Adaptation, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973 Summer Theatre

Till Death Do Us... - We are especially proud to present Till Death Do Us..., an original script by Carter Lewis. This play was written last winter as part of the Otterbein College requirements for "Graduation with Distinction," and the play was presented in the Workshop Theatre.

Adaptation - This is a contest, played like Parcheesi, in which the contestant advances or is sent back through the seven ages of man. The Author has written a parody of life with such incisiveness that it becomes life Swift in its barbs.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Adaptation.html?id=TZGXD57r-EkC

The Mousetrap, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973 Summer Theatre

The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. The longest running West End show, it has by far the longest initial run of any play in history, with its 25,000th performance taking place on 18 November 2012.^[1] The play is known for its twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre.

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

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1973 Summer Theatre

Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251–183 BC), specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus, and Mostellaria, the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: "A funny thing happened on the way to the theater".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Funny_Thing_Happened_on_the_Way_to_the_Forum

Canterbury Tales, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1972-1973 Season

Canterbury Tales is a musical originally presented at the Oxford Playhouse in 1964, conceived and directed by Martin Starkie and written by Nevill Coghill and Martin Starkie. There are two versions of this musical (Canterbury Tales and More Canterbury Tales), each making up about half the story.

The musical took five tales from the Canterbury Tales and told them with song and humour. These were; The Miller's Tale; The Nun's Priest's Tale; The Steward's Tale; The Merchant's Tale; and The Wife of Bath's Tale. In addition, Chaucer's Prologue and Epilogue were spoken. The purpose behind these stories was that Harry …

Much Ado About Nothing, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1972-1973 Season

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599, as Shakespeare was approaching the middle of his career. The play was included in the First Folio, published in 1623.

By means of "noting" (which, in Shakespeare's day, sounded similar to "nothing" as in the play's title, and which means gossip, rumour, and overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar on the erroneous belief that she has been unfaithful. At the end, Benedick and Beatrice …

Alice In Wonderland, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1972-1973 Season

Alice and her sister Delilah are sitting under a tree when Alice sees the White Rabbit hurry down a rabbit hole. Alice follows the White Rabbit into Wonderland, where she has a series of marvelously imaginative adventures.

https://www.enotes.com/topics/alices-adventures

Fiddler On The Roof, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1971-1972 Season

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family's lives. He must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who wish to marry for love – each …

Romeo And Juliet, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1971-1972 Season

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose …

Cinderella, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1971-1972 Season

Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper, is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances, that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo in around 7 BC, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered as the earliest known variant of the "Cinderella" story. The first literary European version of the story was published in Italy by Giambattista Basile in his Pentamerone in 1634; …

The Male Animal, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1971 Summer Theatre

Elliott Nugent scored his biggest stage success with The Male Animal, which he co-wrote with his longtime friend James Thurber. It centers on a college professor who faces dismissal for his defense of free speech. Further complicating matters is the arrival of his wife’s former boyfriend. The play premiered in 1940, with Nugent in the lead role.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elliott-Nugent

Camelot, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970-1971 Season

Lerner and Loewe’s majestic Camelot brings the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table to life with an extraordinary score and a story that poignantly dramatizes the human conflict at the heart of this classic tale. Based on T.H. White’s novel, The Once and Future King, Camelot tells the story of Arthur, a young squire who becomes King after extracting the sword Excalibur from its legendary rock. Camelot opens in the midst of the battle that destroyed King Arthur’s kingdom, and goes back to tell the story of how the battle came to be. The …

Black Comedy And The Tiger, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970 Summer Theatre

Black Comedy - Black Comedy is a one-act farce by Peter Shaffer, first performed in 1965. The play is written to be staged under a reversed lighting scheme: the play opens on a darkened stage. A few minutes into the show there is a short circuit, and the stage is illuminated to reveal the characters in a "blackout." On the few occasions when matches, lighters, or torches are lit, the lights grow dimmer. The title of the play is a pun.

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

The Tiger - The Tiger is one of two short plays written by Murray Schisgal and published in …

Twelfth Night, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969-1970 Season

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 …

The World Of Carl Sandburg, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1969-1970 Season

The World of Carl Sandburg brings to the stage selections from ten of Sandburg's major works, including The People, Yes, Always the Young Strangers and The American Songbag. They show the basic uncluttered, incessantly hopeful lifeblood that was and is the foundation of our country. Through the media of speech, music, dance and stage actions, we present characters, emotions and memories that have made Sandburg a founding father in American poetry. We bring you no set time, no set people, no set age--only the ever-applicable Sandburg.

-Teri Hiatt

Once Upon A Mattress, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1968 Summer Theatre

Due to an unhappy curse, King Sextimus is unable to speak. Meanwhile, his terror-of-a-wife, Queen Aggravain, has taken over control of the kingdom. Most importantly, in an attempt to keep Prince Dauntless single, she has decreed that only the princess that can pass her test may marry her son. Further, no one else in the kingdom may marry until Prince Dauntless does. Lady Larken and Sir Harry are extremely disturbed by this fact since Lady Larken is now pregnant with Sir Harry's baby. Luckily, Sir Harry is able to find an amazing princess, Winnifred the Woebegone. She instantly catches the …

Carousel, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1967-1968 Season

The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow. The show includes the well-known songs "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

The Wizard Of Oz, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1967-1968 Season

No abstract provided.