Theatre History Commons^™

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

Noises Off

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2012 performance of Noises Off by Michael Frayn.

Noises Off is a farce involving the small cast of a play and how their offstage drama impacts their onstage drama.

Dance 2012: Spotlight, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

No abstract provided.

Korean Mask-Dance And Aristotle's Poetics, Teayong Pakr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Korean mask-dance is the traditional theatre of Korea. It was formerly the country's most well-known form of drama among traditional theatrical entertainments. This study explores the theatrical structure of Korean mask-dance as well as its historical background.

The rise of Korean mask-dance may be traced back to the shamanistic village ritual which gradually became similar to the extant form after absorbing aspects of the Buddhism festival through the Goryeo Dynasty, which lasted from 918-1392). During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the mask-dance had acquired its basic form with aspects of professional theatrical entertainment. The mask-dances have been performed during traditional holidays …

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

A Christmas Carol: The Musical

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2011 performance of A Christmas Carol, based on the story by Charles Dickens. Music by Alan Menken, book by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.

A Christmas Carol tells the story of elderly miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Through the encounters Scrooge is transformed into a kinder man.

August: Osage County, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best New Play, August: Osage County centers around the Weston family, brought together after their patriarch, world-class poet and alcoholic Beverly Weston, disappears. The matriarch, Violet, depressed and addicted to pain pills and “truth-telling,” is joined by her three daughters and their problematic lovers, who harbor their own deep secrets, her sister Mattie Fae and her family, well-trained in the Weston family art of cruelty, and finally, the observer of the chaos, the young Cheyenne housekeeper Johnna, who was hired by Beverly just before his disappearance. Holed up in the …

The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2011 performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a parody in which all of Shakespeare’s plays are performed in merged and/or condensed form by three actors. The actors use their real names, interact with the audience, and at times improvise as they go through the plays.

Witness For The Prosecution

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2011 performance of Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie.

Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of a trial of a man named Leonard Vole for the murder of a wealthy older woman who made him her principle heir. During the trial his wife, Romaine, comes to testify not in his defense, but on the side of the prosecution.

Dance 2011: Trip The Light Fantastic, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

No abstract provided.

A Doll's House, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

Ibsen's A Doll's House is a revolutionary classic. The play was integral in establishing realism as a theatrical form, and continues to be a provocative portrayal of a woman suffering in a man's world.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/2344/a-dolls-house

The Count Of Monte Cristo

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2011 performance of The Count of Monte Cristo, adapted by Charles Morey from the novel by Alexandre Dumas.

The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of Edmond Dantès, who is falsely accused of treason and is sent to prison. He and a fellow prisoner escape and discover a treasure, he returns as the Count of Monte Cristo to take revenge on the men who framed him.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2010 performance of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

A Streetcar Named Desire follows the story of southern belle, Blanche DuBois, who has gone through a series of personal losses and moves in with her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley in a dilapidated New Orleans tenement.

Born Yesterday, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

In Garson Kanin’s pointed and hilarious Born Yesterday, personal and political oppression is exposed and outwitted in the intellectual rebirth of the iconic “dumb blonde”, Billie Dawn, who ultimately stands up to Harry Brock’s violent intimidation and shuts down his shady bid for governmental cooperation. https://stageagent.com/shows/play/4838/born-yesterday

We Will Not Be Silent

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s October 2010 performance of We Will Not Be Silent. by William Gebby.

During the darkest days of WWII, a handful of German college students distributed thousands of anti-Nazi leaflets and worked toward unifying resistance across Germany. They called themselves the White Rose, and their faith drew them to engage in a fight that would cost them their lives. William Gebby’s brand new play celebrates the lives of these brave young people who would not and will not be silent.

Performed by the Taylor Touring Company.

The Bald Soprano

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2010 performance of The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco.

The Bald Soprano: An Anti-Play follows the events of a traditional couple who invite over another couple, and are later joined by their maid and the maid’s lover. The characters engage in meaningless banter that becomes even more nonsensical as time goes on.

In this adaptation the actors play the actresses’ roles and the actresses play the actor’s roles.

Doubt

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2010 performance of Doubt by John Patrick Shanley.

Doubt: A Parable is the story of a fictional Catholic school in Bronx and the clash between the parish priest, Father Flynn, and school’s principal, Sister Aloysius, over the suspicion that Flynn molested an alter boy.

This play is performed by the faculty and staff of Taylor University.

Don't Dress For Dinner, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010 Summer Theatre

Don’t Dress For Dinner centers around Bernard and Jacqueline, a not-so-happily married couple, both of whom are having extramarital affairs. As Jacqueline prepares to go out of town to visit her mother, Bernard invites his mistress and Robert, his best friend (and also Jacqueline’s lover, unbeknownst to Bernard), over for the weekend. He’s even hired a Cordon Bleu chef to cater the evening. Jacqueline discovers Robert is coming to town and cancels her trip, causing Bernard to panic. When Robert arrives, Bernard asks him to pretend Suzanne is Robert’s mistress. Robert mistakes the chef (Suzette), for Bernard’s mistress (Suzanne), producing …

2010 - 2011 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010 Summer Theatre

An eclectic group of sixth-graders arrives at the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, each eager to win for very different reasons. Sweet and shy Olive brings only her best friend (the dictionary) with her to the bee; bold and hyperallergic speller William Barfee uses his “magic foot” to propel him to greatness; former champion Chip is struggling with his burgeoning puberty; easily distracted Leaf is unconvinced that he’s smart enough to be a challenger; overachiever Marcy is disappointed by her consistent success; and politically aware Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre only wants to impress her gay dads. In hilarious, touching, and catchy …

Pippin, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2009-2010 Season

As told by a traveling troupe of actors led by the cunning and charming Leading Player, Pippin is the story of a young prince, heir to the throne, who is searching for his own “corner of the sky.” Pippin returns from university certain that he will find a fulfilling purpose in life. As encouraged by the Leading Player, Pippin dabbles in bloody battle, licentious and lusty sexual entanglements, and saavy political maneuvers, only to discover that true happiness is more complicated than he thought. With infectious tunes by Stephen Schwartz and classic choreography from Bob Fosse, Pippin is both …

Dead Man's Cell Phone, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2009-2010 Season

While at a café, a man dies. But his cell phone will not stop ringing. The woman at the next table, Jean, picks up the cell phone and ends up stuck in the middle of all his troubles, meeting his widow Hermia, his mother Mrs. Gottlieb, and his mistress. In the course of meeting all these people, she ends up falling in love with the dead man’s brother, Dwight. The dead man himself, Gordon Gottlieb, eventually tells his last moments himself.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/1810/dead-mans-cell-phone

Crimes Of The Heart

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2010 performance of Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley.

Crimes of the Heart tells the story of the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at their grand father’s home in Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband.

You Can't Take It With You, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2009-2010 Season

Grandpa Vanderhof and his wacky family, the Sycamores, have been happily living their zany lives in his house by Columbia University in New York for many years. This family (and their friends) are a madcap group of eccentrics, marching to the beat of their own drum, with pride and joy. Their hobbies include collecting snakes, building fireworks in the basement, writing a myriad of plays that never get published, and taking ballet lessons. Things like stress, jobs, and paying taxes to the government are for other people, not for them! But when practical young Alice Sycamore becomes engaged to her …

Hippolytus

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2010 performance of Hippolytus by Euripides.

Hippolytus is the illegitimate son of Theseus, the king of Athens. The play tells how the goddess of love, Aphrodite, maliciously enacts vengeance on Hippolytus for his oath to chastity and service to the goddess of the hunt, Artemis.

December 2009 - Volume Ix, Number 1, Theatre Arts Department

Sides (Newsletter)

This issue includes items about Theatre Alumni Reunions, Dedication of the Green Room at the Doudna Fine Art Center (named after Lucille and E. Glendon Gabbard), and December Graduates.

The Secret Garden

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2009 performance of The Secret Garden based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett with script and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon.

The Secret Garden tells the story of Mary Lennox, a young English girl from British Raj who is sent to live in Yorkshire, England with her relatives after her parents die in a cholera outbreak. As she works in a neglected hidden garden with a young gardener she begins to grow and begins to influence her sickly cousin and uncle.

Footprints Of A Pilgrim

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2009 performance of Footsteps of a Pilgrim based on the book by Ruth Bell Graham and adapted by Kerry Meads and Robert Smyth.

Footprints of a Pilgrim is the story of Ruth Bell Graham recounting the story of her childhood as the daughter of missionaries in China, her marriage to Reverend Billy Graham, and beyond.

Babes In Arms, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2009-2010 Season

One of the quintessential “Hey, let’s put on a show” musicals, which boasts one of the most beautiful scores ever written, by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, including such timeless standards as “The Lady is a Tramp”, “Where Or When”, “My Funny Valentine”, and “I Wish I were In Love Again”.

A group of teenagers are left to their own devices as their parents leave for the summer to hit the vaudeville circuit. However, problems arise when the local sheriff vows to send them to a work farm unless they prove their mettle. Within two weeks, the group pushes forward …

2009 - 2010 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.