Theatre History Commons^™

The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1978 performance of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is the story of Cora Flood, the wife of a traveling salesman. Learning that her husband might have an affair with another woman, she plans to leave the marriage. When her husband returns, having lost his job, Cora must decide how to respond.

A Christmas Carol, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978-1979 Season

No abstract provided.

Quest And Query

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1978 performance of Quest and Query adapted by Oliver Hubbard.

Hedda Gabler, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978-1979 Season

Hedda Gabler focusses on the frustrated existence of its title character, exploring core issues of power, control, and social expectation. Bored and restricted by her middle-class environment, Hedda plays out her own fantasies and psychological games with those nearest to her to an ultimately costly end.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/5638/hedda-gabler

The Fight Master, October 1978, Vol. 1 Issue 3, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The House Of Blue Leaves, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

Winner of the 1971 Critics Award and Obie Award as best American play, this brilliantly wacky comedy examines the zany but desperately sad attempt of a middle aged zoo attendant to break into the “big time” as a serious song writer. John Guare mixes hilarity and tragedy to achieve a touching and poignant story not to be forgotten. Adult entertainment.

Let's Get A Divorce, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

Titillating French bedroom farce at its naughty best! This 19th century comic masterpiece revolves around the outrageously amusing implications of France’s first divorce law. Combine a suspicious older husband, an adventuresome young wife and a swashbuckling young lover with the marital riddle — “Can husbands and wives also be friends and lovers?” — and prepare for a riotous chain of events.

What The Butler Saw, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

An adult farce that revolves around a psychiatrist with his own hospital who believes the best way to interview a girl for a job is to seduce her (but then nothing works in this zany place), his wife and her current bell-hop paramour and the complications resulting from the arrival of a state inspector.

The Fight Master, July 1978, Vol. 1 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Gingerbread Boy And Other Fables, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

A collection of fairy tales and fables performed by our “Strolling Players.”

Oh, Coward!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

A compilation of the words and music by the master of wit, Noel Coward. An international theatrical personality for over 50 years who wrote and starred in over a score of plays and eleven musicals. Nostalgia interspersed with insight into the humorous side of life leaves an audience humming the memorable melodies and hilarious lyrics. Songs like “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” “Mrs. Worthington,” “Someday I’ll Find You” and “The Stately Homes of England.”

The Gazebo, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1978 Summer Theatre

Broadway hit comedy-melodrama — the story revolves around a writer of TV “whodunits and whyzits” who is always looking for a “new twist,” especially from his district attorney friend. Comedy is the inevitable result when he is forced to protect his beautiful wife from a blackmailer. A gazebo suddenly gets a “new use” during installation and the “new twist” becomes very real. Guaranteed entertainment for the family.

1978 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.

Applause, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977-1978 Season

The Department of Music and dance area join us in presenting the award winning musical that starred Lauren Bacall for three years in New York, on national tour and in London. Based on the movie “All About Eve,” the story revolves around show business. Delightful songs and dances Include “Applause, Applause,” “Welcome to the Theatre,” “Fasten Your Seat Belts” and “One of a Kind.”

A Doll's House

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1978 performance of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen.

A Doll’s House is the story of a woman named Nora Helmer who tries to cover up an act of fraud she performed to save her husband’s life. The conflict shakes her home life and marriage, exposing their perceptions of each other and how each believes marriage is to be.

Tartuffe, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977-1978 Season

Moliere's comic masterpiece that takes an old “con game” story and uses wit and humor to puncture satirically excesses of hypocrisy and gullibility. Using prolific flattery seasoned with devoted piety, Tartuffe establishes himself in a rich household and proceeds to help himself to the daughter, attempt to seduce the wife and secure the family fortune while the gullible husband blindly supports him.

The Fight Master, April 1978, Vol. 1 Issue 1, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977-1978 Season

An Academy Award winning movie featuring Jack Nicholson, dramatized for the Broadway stage by Dale Wasserman and starring Kirk Douglas (both based on an outstanding novel by Ken Kesey), now comes to the Otterbein stage featuring a PROFESSIONAL GUEST ARTIST in the lead role of “McMurphy.” Recent guest stars have included Pat Mingle, George Grizzard, Brock Peters, Robert Forster, Ric Mancini and Tony Roberts.

Galileo

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1978 performance of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht.

Galileo is a fictional retelling of the trial of Galileo when he was tried by the Roman Catholic Church for the promulgation of his scientific discoveries.

The American Experience

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1977 Advanced Oral Interpretation Class’s performance of The American Experience adapted by Oliver Hubbard.

Robin Hood, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977-1978 Season

The story of Robin Hood, his merry Band and Maid Marian in a new dramatization featuring music and dances of the period.

The Streets Of New York, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977-1978 Season

Come hiss the villain, cheer the hero and weep for our heroine in this genuine old-fashioned melodrama by the master of pure entertainment Dion Boucicault. The production will include the traditional “olio” or vaudeville variety acts of music, song and dance at intermission, mixed with the drama, pathos, passion, sensationalism and spectacular scenery of melodramatic entertainment at its best.

Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1977 performance of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, with songs assembled and translated by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a musical revue of the life and music of Jacques Brel.

1977 - 1978 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

You Know I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977 Summer Theatre

One of the most successful comedies in Broadway history, this warm-hearted series of short plays revolve around such diverse topics as “nudity in theatre,’’ the joys of sex and marriage as related to standard size vs. twin beds, and an elderly married couple discussing comedically the joys of their previous marriages (even though they tend to get very confused about who was best at what).

The Little Foxes, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977 Summer Theatre

Lilian Hellman’s most famous play and finest drama originally starred Tallulah Bankhead in 1939 when it was described as a “milestone in American drama!’’ The story revolves around a charming Southern plantation at the turn of the century in which an apparently loving family become involved in a ruthless struggle for control of the family fortune.

Not Now, Darling!, Otterbein Universitytheatre And Dance Department

1977 Summer Theatre

This hilarious farce, which set box office records in London and Paris before coming to Broadway, will remind local audiences of the Otterbein SRO hit in 1975 Move Over, Mrs. Markham. Set in the exclusive London fur salon of Bodley and Crouch, the struggle to keep mistresses and wives separated leads to situations from which only a bumbler like Crouch could emerge o hero. Recommended for adult audiences.

Little Red Riding Hood And Other Fables, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977 Summer Theatre

A collection of fairy tales and fables.

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

1977 Summer Theatre

The poignant, passionate and profound songs of Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel are brought to vivid theatrical life in this intense musical experience. Brel's legendary romance, humor and moral conviction are evoked simply and directly, with four actors, four musicians and four stools. The result is a powerful, intimate, bold and emotional evening of theatre.

https://www.samuelfrench.com/s/13628/jacques-brel-is-alive-and-well-living-in-paris

Forty Carats, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1977 Summer Theatre

The comedy revolves around a 40-year-old American divorcee who is assisted by a 22-year-old when her car breaks down during a vacation in Greece. Their ensuing romantic interlude changes from a brief encounter to a potentially serious relationship when he turns up on her New York City doorstep to take her 17-year-old daughter on a date.

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