Theatre History Commons^™

The Curious Savage

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1983 performance of The Curious Savage by John Patrick.

The Curious Savage is the story of Ethel P. Savage, an elderly lady whose husband has died and left her approximately ten million dollars. When she sets up a memorial fund for average people to pursue their dreams, her three stepchildren commit her to a sanatorium and try to discover where she has hidden the fortune. As the search for the fortune plays out the question becomes who is really crazy, the residents of the sanatorium or Ethel’s stepchildren.

Deathtrap, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983-1984 Season

A smash hit on Broadway and in London, this ingeniously constructed play offers a rare and skillful blend of gasp-inducing thrills and spontaneous laughter. Ensconced in his charming Connecticut home, Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a " dry" spell. A possible break occurs when a student from a seminar he had taught sends him a script-a thriller which Sidney recognizes immediately as a potential hit. His wife helps devise a plan for collaboration, which the young playwright accepts. Thereafter, the suspense mounts steadily as the plot twists and turns with devilish cleverness toward …

1983 - 1984 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Ten Little Indians, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983 Summer Theatre

If you love a mystery!—Don’t miss this one! This famous “locked-room” puzzler is Agatha Christie at her best. A wonderful combination of comedy and mystery.

God's Favorite, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983 Summer Theatre

Neil Simon’s hilarious Broadway play gives us a comic, contemporary look at the Biblical story of Job. There is plenty of comedy with underlying pathos as “God's Favorite” tries to stoically handle his trials and tribulations.

The Elephant Man, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983 Summer Theatre

This thoughtful, moving, and sensitive play is based on the true story of one John Merrick. Under the care of a famous young doctor, Merrick is transformed from a freak attraction in traveling side shows to a favorite of the Victorian Aristocracy. The play depicts the Elephant Man’s dream to overcome his horrible deformity and become a man like any other.

I Do! I Do!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983 Summer Theatre

This cheerful musical is the story of a marriage told in a warm sentimental style. It is brassy and bold, soft and touching, and always entertaining. The tuneful score includes “My Cup Runneth Over,” “All The Dearly Beloved”, and “I Do! I Do!”

A Thurber Carnival, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1983 Summer Theatre

This fun-filled evening is a collection of sketches by the great American humorist James Thurber. Included are such favorites as “The Night The Bed Fell”, “File and Forget”, and of course, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.

1983 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.

Private Lives, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982-1983 Season

Noel Coward’s superb farce, a unique play with three very successful Broadway runs! Elyot and Amanda, once married and now honeymooning with new spouses at the same hotel, meet by chance, re-Ignite the old spark and impulsively elope. After some days of being reunited, however, they again find their fiery romance alternating between passions of love and anger. Into this situation come their aggrieved spouses, and the resulting confusion and resolution Is hilarious.

Irene, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982-1983 Season

The Department of Music and dance area join us in presenting the smash musical comedy hit that brought Debbie Reynolds to Broadway! This gay, light-hearted, romantic and charming show contains some of the best music in the American musical theatre, including “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” “You Made Me Love You,” “Alice Blue Gown,” and “They Go Wild, Simply Wild Over Me.” Irene has a particularly contemporary charm with its Cinderella-type story of a delightful Irish lass who believed in women’s lib before the term was invented.

Summer And Smoke

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams.

Summer and Smoke is the story of a high strung young woman named Alma Winemiller, and the spiritual/sexual romance that nearly develops between her and John Buchanan Jr. who grew up next door.

The music used to accompany the performance was used in the original production.

The Diary Of Anne Frank

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett adapted from The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a dramatization of the diary entries of Anne Frank, a young Dutch-Jew who went into hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

The Man Who Came To Dinner, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982-1983 Season

The story revolves around the famous critic, lecturer, wit, and radio orator Sheridan Whiteside and happens on his annual lecture tour when he slips on a piece of ice on the doorstep of the Stanley family of Mesalia, Ohio, suddenly resulting in a six-week convalescence in their house. Featuring a professional guest star for the 22nd consecutive year.

The Masque Of Beauty And The Beast, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982-1983 Season

One of the most universal and beloved stories of all time. This new version by Michael Brill captures all the glowing simplicity of the fable, appealing to the inherent Idealism of children as well as to their love of magic, the romance and mystery of long ago time and far away places. To be presented in a fully staged version with magical sets and opulent costumes.

Abelard And Heloise, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982-1983 Season

A smashing London success, this love story was inspired by Helen Waddell’s Peter Abelard and the letters of the 12th Century lovers. The monastic scholar, poet, and most praised teacher in Paris loses his heart and reason to Heloise, a young and innocent girl who came to adore him, has a child by her, and in violation of his church vows enters a secret marriage. A vengeful uncle alerts ecclesiastical authorities, the lovers are separated and the conflict between church and love has a shocking resolution.

You Can't Take It With You

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1982 performance of You Can’t Take It with You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

You Can’t Take It with You follows the story of the only normal daughter in an eccentric family, and the chaos and mishaps which happen when she brings her fiancé home to meet her family.

1982 - 1983 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

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

1982 Summer Theatre

At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder! Fireworks abound in this classic Kaufman and Hart comedy of the American stage. Good family entertainment!

The Affairs Of Anatol, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982 Summer Theatre

It is turn of the century Vienna and Anatol, Schnitzler’s sentimental man-about-town, romances, cajoles, and woos to his heart’s discontent. With his friend and confidant. Max, we see Anatol in five distinct ‘affairs’, all challenging, and all delightful!

Romantic Comedy, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982 Summer Theatre

As the title implies, there is plenty of comedy and romance in this new Bernard Slade play about an elegant but down-on-his-luck writer who learns to ‘collaborate’ with a wacky but charming female colleague.

Godspell, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982 Summer Theatre

Based on the gospel according to St. Matthew, this exhilarating musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz has won the affection of theatregoers the world over. It includes the memorable hits, “Day by Day’’, “Turn Back, O Man’’, and “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord’’.

California Suite, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1982 Summer Theatre

Neil Simon’s hilarious Broadway comedy is set in the suite of a California hotel. Four couples hide, fight, reconcile then inevitably tangle in scenes which vary from poignant to madcap.

1982 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.

Tribute, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981-1982 Season

A smash Broadway hit and movie starring Jack Lemmon, Tribute will be presented in the air conditioned Campus Center Arena Theatre. Written by Bernard Slade (Same Time Next Year and Romantic Comedy), the play centers around an enormously popular Broadway press agent and former scriptwriter and a “tribute” arranged by his son at a moment of great crisis in his life.

The Sound Of Music, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981-1982 Season

The Department of Music and dance area join us in presenting this tale of love, adventure and faith featuring one of the richest and most varied of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s scores. The true story of the famed Trapp Family Singers, an Austrian family who defied the Nazi terror on the eve of World War II. Music includes “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Maria,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” and “Edelweiss.”

The Importance Of Being Earnest

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1982 performance of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, is a farcical comedy about two men who each take on the personas with the name of Earnest in order to escape the burdens of social obligations.

Twelfth Night, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981-1982 Season

A revival of the most popular of all Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, a comedy of love and language filled with romantic intrigue, mistaken identity and other farcical happenings. Featuring a professional guest star for the 21st consecutive year.

Inherit The Wind

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1982 performance of Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawerence and Robert E. Lee.

Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial where a high school teacher named John T. Scopes was tried for teaching evolution against state law.

Then The Circus Comes To Town

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1981 Advanced Oral Interpretation Class’s performance of When the Circus Come to Town adapted by Oliver Hubbard.