Theatre History Commons^™

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, 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.

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.”

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.

Cinderella, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981-1982 Season

One of the most universal and beloved fairy tales of all time. The story of a beautiful young girl forced by her stepmother and jealous stepsisters to keep house and sleep in the cinders. She finally marries a handsome prince and lives happily ever after with the help of some friendly mice, a fairy godmother and a glass slipper. To be presented in a fully staged version with music.

Absurd Person Singular, Otterbein University

1981-1982 Season

Superb farce-comedy by Alan Ayckbourn (England’s Neil Simon). Three couples are visited for three consecutive Christmas parties in their three very different kitchens. Behind the scenes disasters provide the laughter as the Hopcrofts advance to material prosperity and the others decline. Otterbein’s entry in the American College Theatre Festival.

Murder At The Vicarage, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

An Agatha Christie mystery that involves a body found in the parson’s home, complete with numerous suspects and multiple confessors to the crime that again requires the shrewd Miss Marple to aid in the unraveling of the mystery.

Chapter Two, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

Frequently described as Neil Simon’s most “mature work”, this autobiographical comedy is based on the laughter and heartache of a young writer whose wife has recently died and his attempts at starting over. A touching funny story of two people embracing a new life and remaining faithful to the old.

Rainbow Dancing, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

Texas Moon Danceland is a west Texas daylight bar that caters to the regional clientele of bored housewives, chicken farmers, would be country stars and dream chasers who let the neon moon fill their washed out lives. As the dancing starts and the lights begin to whirl, the Texas moon will sweep you into the comic, fragile lives of these people.

Reynard The Fox, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

In this sparkling satire, Reynard is brought to trial for his offenses against the other animals. He is given a year of probation, in which to mend his ways. But the playful fox cannot resist the opportunity to trick his fellows. He accumulates a long list of misdeeds before the year is half up. Enraged by this, the wolf and the bear lead a conspiracy against him and actually have the noose around his neck when the hunters close in, trapping all the animals. Struck with terror, each one schemes only for his own safety. It is Reynard who contrives …

Rodgers And Hart, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

This musical celebration contains some sixty songs selected from the hundreds written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for their Broadway musicals and films. The songs are woven together in a tight and tasteful fashion so that the entertainment never lags. Sentimental standards like “Where or When,” “Blue Moon” and “With a Song in My Heart” are followed by the humorous twists of “To Keep My Love Alive” or the wry comments of “Give It Back to the Indians.”

Charlie's Aunt, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1981 Summer Theatre

A revival of Brandon Thomas’ Classic farce which has moved millions to laughter since it was first produced in 1892. The situations evoked by dressing a fellow Oxford student as Charley’s Aunt so Charley and Jack can invite girlfriends to their rooms provide circumstances for confusion and hilarity.

The Shadow Box, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980-1981 Season

To be staged in the Campus Center Arena Theatre, we close our 75th anniversary celebration with the play that won the Tony Award for "Best Play 1976-77 Season" and the Pulitzer Prize for 1977. Though the play is about three terminal cancer patients, it is " A celebration of life. It is absolutely uplifting. Brilliantly written...best American Play of the year."

Hello, Dolly, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980-1981 Season

The Department of Music and dance area join us to highlight May Day activities by presenting this award-winning Broadway musical that has excited theatregoers all over the world. Thrill to the comedy of Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder, Barnaby and Minnie Fay, Cornelius and Irene Malloy, and enjoy the superb music of such delightful songs as "It Only Takes a Moment", "Ribbons Down my Back," and, of course, the house toppling "Hello, Dolly!"

And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980-1981 Season

Celebrate a first! This play marks the first time we have invited two name guest artists in the same year, and we seek an actress to star in the brilliant Broadway drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel that starred Julie Harris and Estelle Parson. This biting, touching and often wildly funny play probes the relationships of three sisters whose lives have reached a point of crisis. A great mixture of comedy and drama.

As You Like It, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980-1981 Season

Otterbein Theatre began 75 years ago with this play and it was revived for our 60th anniversary. We celebrate the best of Shakespeare with laughter...music...dances...romance...comedy at all levels. The story of how the banished Duke, Rosalind, Orlando and others find happiness through love is one of the most delightful of all Shakespearean tales. The wit of the clown, Touchstone, the philosophy of "All the world's a stage...", the music of "It was a lover and his lass...", the earthy needs of the country people, the romantic honesty of young lovers in tune with nature...all can be found in As You …

Our Town, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980-1981 Season

1901 to 1913. Grover's Corners, New Hampshire near Massachusetts. Our Town is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Town

All Over Town, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

Heralded as one of the ten best plays of 1974, this zany farce concerns a psychiatrist going crazy. Amidst his chaotic household he tries to restore sanity to himself and his world by curing a man whose pastime is conceiving illegitimate children. The cure will put you in stitches!

A Murder Is Announced, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

Agatha Christie’s gripping new mystery, complete with musty Victorian drawing rooms, multiple arresting suspects, and the dowdy intrepid Miss Marple. This spine tingler will send you spinning through, a maze of clues and keep you guessing till the final thrilling moments.

Otherwise Engaged, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

Simon’s sole desire is to sip his brandy and listen to Wagner's Parsifal. His solitude is challenged as he parries attacks from a peckish brother, an aggressive seductress, a mysterious visitor and others. His dazzling wit and haunting detachment escalates laughter to an ultimate shocking climax.

The Princess And The Pea And Other Fairy Tales, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

The Strolling Players performing The Princess and the Pea and other classic fairy tails for the Otterbein College Children's Theatre.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

A revival of this bawdy musical hit. It is madcap farce at its best. Based on the Roman play by Plautus this modern adaptation with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Stephen Sondheim combines the hilarious nonsense of vaudeville with a variety of musical memorables such as Comedy Tonight and Everybody Ought to Have a Maid. Laughs for the entire family!

Bedroom Farce, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1980 Summer Theatre

Broadway hit comedy about three London couples retiring to the romantic privacy of their own bedrooms. Their loving coupling goes awry when a fourth twosome invades all three beds creating hilarious havoc in a series of marital misunderstandings and inaccurate accusations.

And They Dance Real Slow In Jackson, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1979-1980 Season

In Jackson, a small town in rural Indiana, Elizabeth Ann Willow lives with her father and mother. Crippled at birth with polio, Elizabeth Ann is confined to a wheelchair and must wear leg braces, which cuts her off from the other children and prevents her regular attendance at school. Although she tries to reach out and make friends, Elizabeth Ann is increasingly isolated from and then taunted by the others, whose small-town prejudices are reinforced by a polio scare, of which Elizabeth Ann is a chilling embodiment.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/445082.And_They_Dance_Real_Slow_in_Jackson_

Guys & Dolls, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1979-1980 Season

The Department of Music and dance area join us to highlight May Day week activities. Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Combine a “floating crap game,” the Save-A-Soul Mission ladies of Times Square with music like “Luck Be a Lady,” “Take Back Your Mink,” “A Bushel and a Peck” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” for one of the best musicals ever! Definitely for the entire family.