Theatre History Commons^™

An Interview With Frank Barrie, Abe J. Bassett

Theatre Faculty Publications

Frank Barrie, a talented British Actor, came to Wright State University in 1985 to present his one-man show, Macready, and to speak with acting students about creating their one-person senior thesis productions.

Abe J. Bassett, Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at Wright State University, interviewed Barrie.

The Diary Of Anne Frank, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985-1986 Season

The Diary of Anne Frank dramatizes the period in which Anne Frank and her family hide from the Nazis in an attic. The Franks, the Van Daans, and a couple other displaced Jewish people all live in Mr. Kraler's attic for about a year and a half. Eventually, the Nazis find them, and all but Mr. Frank die in the concentration camps.

https://www.enotes.com/topics/diary-anne

I Never Sang For My Father

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1985 performance of I Never Sang For My Father by Robert Anderson.

I Never Sang For My Father is the story of widowed professor Gene Garrison, who looks to get away from his father and remarry a woman in California, but struggles with the thought of leaving.

1985 - 1986 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The Fight Master, September 1985, Vol. 8 Issue 3, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

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.

Terra Nova, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985 Summer Theatre

In the winter of 1911-1912 five Englishmen and five Norwegians raced each other to the bottom of the earth. Only the five Norwegians returned. This is the story of the five Englishmen. Blending historical fact drawn from the journals of the Antarctic explorer Captain Scott with brilliantly devised fantasy scenes, author Ted Tally has crafted a compelling study of heroism in the face of bitter defeat.

Baby, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985 Summer Theatre

This Broadway musical explores the joys, pains and comedies of three very different couples and their journey to parenthood. It delivers an intimate and humorous evening of musical theatre.

Arsenic And Old Lace, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985 Summer Theatre

The play is a farcical black comedy revolving around the Brewster family, descended from the Mayflower, but now composed of insane homicidal maniacs. The hero, Mortimer Brewster, is a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, New York, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_and_Old_Lace_(play)

1985 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.

Agnes Of God, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

Agnes of God is a play which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash during the resulting investigation. The title is a pun on the Latin phrase Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

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

West Side Story, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Arthur Laurents' book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as one of the best ever written. The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in this landmark Broadway musical that is one of the theatre's finest accomplishments. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the …

The Fight Master, May 1985, Vol. 8 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Rivals

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1985 performance of The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

The Rivals tells the story of young lovers, Lydia Languish and Captain Jack Absolute and the mishaps which happen when Jack’s father tries to arrange a marriage for him and a sequence of gossip and misdelivered letters sets off a clash between Lydia’s suitors.

Conversation On Effects Of Equus With Michael Ferrari, Provost, Abe J. Bassett, Michael R. Ferrari

Theatre Faculty Publications

In May of 1985, Abe Bassett interviewed Michael Ferrari about the Equus play held at Wright State University and all of the controversy that surrounded it.

The Imaginary Invalid, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

The Imaginary Invalid (1673), by the great comedic playwright Molière (whose full name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), is a satire about the 17th-century medical profession. Its intended audience was the French aristocracy, primarily King Louis XIV (known as “the Sun King”). Molière played the lead character, Argan the hypochondriac, and in an ironic turn of events, would end up dying from tuberculosis just hours after the last performance. In its original form, the three-act play combines comedy with dance (“ballets”) and and musical interludes.

http://www.supersummary.com/the-imaginary-invalid/summary/

The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1985 performance of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds tells the story of a dysfunctional family of a single mother and two daughters and their struggles as the mother tries to keep her daughters from succeeding.

Come Back To The 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

This is the Broadway version of the play which the New York Post described as " Full of homespun humor ... surefire comic gems." The play is set in a small town dime store in West Texas where the Disciples of James Dean gather for their twentieth reunion . When Dean had filmed " Giant," the Disciples had been teenagers, and one of them, an extra, now has a child whom she says was conceived by Dean. Reminiscences mingle with flashbacks; then, the arrival of a stunning and momentarily unrecognized woman sets off a series of confrontations. This play employs …

The Fight Master, January 1985, Vol. 8 Issue 1, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

Kegerreis On Equus, Abe J. Bassett, Robert J. Kegerreis

Theatre Faculty Publications

In 1985, Abe Bassett interviewed Robert Kegerreis about the Equus play held at Wright State University and all of the controversy that surrounded it.

Collegiate Theatre: Alive, Diverse And Thriving, Abe J. Bassett

Theatre Faculty Publications

Collegiate theatre is alive and well and thriving in more than 35 Ohio hamlets, towns and cities. A greater concentration of collegiate theatre can be found in only four other states in America, all significantly more populous than Ohio.

Somebody Stole My Stuff

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1984 performance of Somebody Stole My Stuff compiled and arranged by Dr. Jessica Rousselow.

Somebody Stole My Stuff is an original choreopoem, a dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song. This original arrangement explores the identity of women in society, drawing from the concepts of feminist philosopher-theologian Mary Daly.

The Wizard Of Oz, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American literature and has been widely translated. The Library of Congress has declared it "America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale". Its groundbreaking success and the success of the Broadway musical adapted from the novel led Baum to write thirteen additional Oz books that serve as official sequels to the first story.

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

The Music Man

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1984 performance of The Music Man by Meredith Wilson.

The Music Man is a the story of con man Harold Hill who comes to a town in Indiana posing as a boy’s band conductor, and how an unexpected romance with the local librarian, Marian, changes his plans.

Equus, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1984-1985 Season

Equus tells the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equus_(play)

1984 - 1985 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The Fight Master, September 1984, Vol. 7 Issue 3, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Dining Room, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

1984 Summer Theatre

A.R. Gurney, Jr. has crafted a richly humorous look at the now neglected room that was once a vital center of family life. A series of interrelated scenes that are funny, touching, and rueful combine for an entertaining portrait of American life. THE DINING ROOM, directed by guest artist Dennis Romer, promises to be a delightful evening of humor and abundant humanity.

Witness For The Prosecution, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

1984 Summer Theatre

Only Agatha Christie could have written this suspenseful thriller with its uncanny triple flip ending. Guest artist Ed Vaughan will be featured as Sir Wilfrid Robarts in an evening of suspense sprinkled with comedy.