Theatre History Commons^™

Much Ado About Nothing

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1970 performance of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.

Much Ado About Nothing tells the story of two couples, the feuding Benedick and Beatrice, and the deeply in love Claudio and Hero. Through the use of gossip Benedick and Beatrice are brought together again, and Claudio and Hero, at first separated by malicious lies, are brought together again.

Arsenic And Old Lace, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970-1971 Season

Mortimer Brewster is living a happy life: he has a steady job at a prominent New York newspaper, he’s just become engaged, and he gets to visit his sweet spinster aunts to announce the engagement. Mortimer always knew that his family had a bit of a mad gene -- his brother believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt and his great-grandfather used to scalp Indians for pleasure -- but his world is turned upside down when he realizes that his dear aunts have been poisoning lonely old men for years! When Mortimer’s maniacal brother, Jonathan. (who strangely now resembles Boris Karloff) …

She Stoops To Conquer

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1970 performance of She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith.

She Stoops to Conquer is the story of Kate Hardcastle, a high society woman whom her father is trying to marry to rich Londoner Charles Marlow. When Marlow rejects her in favor of marrying someone less intimidating and of a lower class, she takes on the persona of a maid to woo him.

1970 - 1971 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Harvey, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970 Summer Theatre

Harvey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by Mary Chase, is the story of a perfect gentleman, Elwood P. Dowd, and his best friend, Harvey -- a pooka, who is a six-foot tall, invisible rabbit. When Elwood begins introducing Harvey around town, his embarrassed sister, Veta Louise, and her daughter, Myrtle Mae, determine to commit Elwood to a sanitarium. A mistake is made, however, and Veta is committed rather than Elwood! Eventually, the mistake is realized, and a frantic search begins for Elwood and the invisible pooka, which ends with Elwood appearing, voluntarily, at the sanitarium. In the end, however, Veta …

The Miser, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970 Summer Theatre

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, …

Picnic, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970 Summer Theatre

Hal Carter is a drifter whose life thus far hasn't amounted to much. He got as far as third year in college and since then has tried his hand at a number of things, all without success. He decides to head for Kansas to find his old college buddy, Alan Benson the son of a wealthy man. It's Labor Day and most of the town is preparing to go to the annual picnic. Hal finds his old friend but is immediately taken with Alan's beautiful girlfriend, Madge Owens. Madge's mother very much wants her to marry Alan and while Madge …

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 …

The Odd Couple, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1970 Summer Theatre

Felix Ungar, a neurotic, neat freak newswriter, is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with his friend Oscar Madison, a slovenly sportswriter. Despite Oscar's problems – careless spending, excessive gambling, a poorly kept house filled with spoiled food – he seems to enjoy life. Felix, however, seems utterly incapable of enjoying anything and only finds purpose in pointing out his own and other people's mistakes and foibles. Even when he tries to do so in a gentle and constructive way, his corrections and suggestions prove extremely annoying to those around him. Oscar, his closest friend, feels compelled to …

1970 Otterbein Summer Theatre Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre & Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

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

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

Amahl And The Night Visitors

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1969 performance of Amal and the Night Visitors by Gian-Carlo Menotti.

Amal and the Night Visitors is an opera about a young crippled boy name Amal who lives with his mother, and special night they are visited by the Magi, who are journeying in search of the Christ child.

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 …

Charley's Aunt

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1969 performance of Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas.

Charley’s Aunt is the story of Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate persuaded by two of his friends, Jack and Charley, to impersonate Charley’s aunt so they can spend time with they beaus. Their plan is complicated when an elderly fortune hunter tries to woo the fake aunt and Charley’s real aunt appears.

The Cocktail Party

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1969 performance of The Cocktail Party by T. S. Elliot.

The Cocktail Party by T. S. Elliot is the story of a separated couple who are brought together by their psychiatrist to a cocktail party so they might be reunited.

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

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 …

The World Of Carl Sandburg

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1969 performance of The World of Carl Sandburg arranged by Norman Corwin.

The World of Carl Sandburg features selections from the poetry and prose of Carl Sandburg.

The Madwoman Of Chaillot

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1969 performance of The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux.

The Madwoman of Chaillot is a satire about an eccentric woman who uncovers the plot of a group of businessmen to dig up Paris for oil and sets out to thwart them with the help of other ordinary and peculiar people.

Oklahoma!

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1969 performance of Oklahoma!. Books and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rogers.

The high-spirited rivalry between the farmers and cowmen of the Western Indian Territory provides the colorful, turn-of-the-century backdrop for Curley and Laurey’s love story. But with these headstrong romantics holding the reins, the road to love is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a dusty road. Despite many hardships, their rocky romance leads to a new life beginning in a brand new state. Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, having set …

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

Ua68/17/2 The Star-Spangled Girl!, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of The Star-Spangled Girl!

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

An Evening Of One-Act Plays

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s 1968 student-directed productions, including The American Dream by Edward Albee, The Room by Harold Pinter, and The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco.

All My Sons

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1968 performance of All My Sons by Arthur Miller.

All My Sons is the story of the Keller family, whose father knowingly sent a batch of defective engine cylinder heads to the military in World War II, and how the discovery of his crime impacts his family and neighbors.