Theatre History Commons^™

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

2008-2009 Season

First published as a book by Ken Kesey in 1962, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was inspired by Kesey's job as an orderly at a veteran's hospital and by the 1960s counterculture movement touting such themes as freedom, rebellion and fearlessness.It's the classic anti establishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system.

Dance 2009: To Each His Own, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2008-2009 Season

No abstract provided.

An Absolute Turkey, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2008-2009 Season

Georges Feydeau, master of farce, displays all his tricks of the trade in this witty, seamless and acutely funny play. An Absolute Turkey was a West End hit following its London premiere at the Globe Theatre in 1993. https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/9770/an-absolute-turkey/

Smokey Joe's Cafe, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2008-2009 Season

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll and rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiver and Mike Stoller.

2008 - 2009 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Peter Pan, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

An adaptation of J. M. Barrie's story about a boy who never grew up. The three children of the Darling family receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them toNever Land, where an ongoing war between Peter's gang of rag-tag runaways and the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046183/plotsummary

Miss Witherspoon, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

A woman named Veronica, who is a recent suicide, has to go back to the world of the living to cleanse her “brown tweedy aura” and learn the values of life. She findsherself in Bardo, a Tibetan Buddhist netherworld and the place where you wait to be reincarnated. She is not enthusiastic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Witherspoon

Dance Concert 2008: Gotta Dance!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

No abstract provided.

Caucasian Chalk Circle, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

he Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brechtbegins with a prologue, a play-within-the-play, concerning a dispute between two groups of peasants as to which one will take control over a valley abandoned after the Nazis invaded in World War Two. http://www.supersummary.com/caucasian-chalk-circle/summary/

Urinetown, Otterbein University

2007-2008 Season

One of the most uproariously funny musicals in recent years, Urinetown is a tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government enforced ban on private toilets.

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

Set in the home of a professor in a small college, an evening of “fun and games with George and Martha” is the shattering and memorable drama that proclaimed Edward Albee one of America’s greatest playwrights. Scorching, scalding, laugh provoking, revealing and completely engrossing theatre at its best.

2007 - 2008 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Private Lives, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007 Summer Theatre

Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realize that they still have feelings for each other.

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

Hello, Dolly!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

Hello, Dolly! is a musical filled with charisma and with heart. Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler --but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Hello-Dolly! is boisterous and charming from start to finish. https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1313/hello-dolly

Dance 2007: Encore!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

No abstract provided.

While We Were Bowling, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

Seventeen-year-old Lydia McGlaughlin takes us on a touching and hilarious tour of 1950s Buffalo. With the city and world changing around them, one thing keeps her family grounded – the great sport of bowling! With the all-city tournament on the horizon, will the McGlaughlin clan be able to beat Grandpa Whip’s all-time record of an 808 three-game series and break the curse that has long plagued them? The family that bowls together, stays together; so when life gives you a 7-10 split, load up the Ford Fairlane and head to Voelker’s!

Poetic Pandemic, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

This was the world premier of this ground breaking play. While there is a clear political agenda here, this is not agit-prop theatre. What Kia Corthron gives us are fully realized, complicated and complex people trying to grapple with the hard questions at the core of what it is to be human.

Company, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

Originally titled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most book musicals, which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a concept musical composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby's 35th birthday.

Company was among the first musicals to deal with adult themes and relationships. As Sondheim puts it, "Broadway theater has been for many years supported by upper-middle-class people with …

42nd Street, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

One of showbusiness’s most classic and beloved tales, 42nd Street tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway.

Peggy arrives to New York City from her hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania, armed with her tap shoes and big dreams. Peggy’s talent catches the eye of legendary Broadway director Julian Marsh, who gives her a spot in the chorus of Pretty Lady, his newest show. Pretty Lady stars Dorothy Brock, the classic Broadway diva, who takes an instant dislike to the new girl in the cast. When …

Leaving Iowa, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

The spark behind Leaving Iowa comes from being children of parents from the now dubbed "greatest generation." The story is a toast to their idealism and character and a little roast of their undying dedication to the classic family road trip. More specifically, it is the story of Don Browning, a middle-aged writer, who returns home and decides to finally take his father's ashes to his childhood home, as requested. But when Don discovers Grandma's house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa searching for a proper resting place for his father. This father-and-son road trip shifts …

Dance 2006: Street Fest, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

No abstract provided.

Prelude To A Kiss, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

Peter and Rita are two young, happy lovers who are getting married. On their wedding day, after their nuptial kiss, an old man comes up to kiss the bride. During this kiss, their souls exchange, and the young, beautiful woman Peter just married now houses the soul of a dying, old man. On their honeymoon, Peter starts to notice that something's not quite right. When he discovers the truth, he confronts the old man, who now holds Rita's soul. Peter struggles with the notion that this is his young bride, and he works feverishly to put the souls back in …

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

Charles Schulz’s beloved comic comes to life in Clark Gesner’s classic musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The whole gang is here: bossy Lucy is hopelessly in love with piano prodigy Schroeder who doesn’t give her the time of day, perfectionist Sally is still mocking blanket-toting Linus, Snoopy is in the doghouse, and “blockhead,” himself, Charlie Brown, is in rare form. Brief vignettes span the months from Valentine’s Day to Beethoven Day, from wild optimism to utter despair. In this revised version, with additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and dialogue by Michael Mayer, the sweet, joyful innocence …

The Merchant Of Venice, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

In the melting pot of Venice, currency opens many doors. A multicultural metropolis, Venice welcomes its arms to all – so long as they come prepared for the brutality of the business of trade. Young Bassanio wants to take a gamble for brilliant Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont. He is willing to risk all he has to win her hand, but all he has is not enough. In need of extra money to make a proper suit, Bassanio enlists the help of his merchant friend, Antonio, who takes out a loan from Jewish money lender, Shylock, on his behalf. …

Jesus Christ Superstar, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2004-2005 Season

Jesus Christ Superstar tells the story of biblical Jesus in the final days leading up to his crucifixion. A rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the musical has no spoken dialogue and is sometimes considered a modern rock-opera. Loosely based on the Gospels, Superstar focuses on the personal conflicts between Jesus, his disciples, the people of Israel, and the leadership of Rome. Special attention is played to the relationship between Judas Iscariot and Jesus, as well as Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene. The musical is unique among biblical retellings in that it focuses on both Judas’ struggle …

The Women Of Lockerbie, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2004-2005 Season

A mother from New Jersey roams the hills of Lockerbie Scotland, looking for her son's remains that were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103. She meets the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane's wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim's families. The Women of Lockerbie is loosely inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely …

The Dinner Party, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2004-2005 Season

The Dinner Party is the 31st play by Neil Simon. The action revolves around a French dinner party that is hilariously chaotic. Six people, who do not know one another, have been invited to dine in a fancy Parisian restaurant. There is an air of mystery in this comedic play, because the diners do not know why they have been brought together. As it turns out, the dinner is about their damaged relationships and whether or not they can reconcile.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/1604/the-dinner-party

The Ugly Duckling +2, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2004-2005 Season

No abstract provided.

Violet, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2004-2005 Season

Set in 1964 in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet follows the growth and enlightenment of a bitter young disfigured woman. In hopes that a TV evangelist can cure her, she embarks on a journey by bus from her sleepy North Carolina town to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets a young black soldier who teaches her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/1787/violet

The Music Man, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2003-2004 Season

When Harold Hill, a traveling con man, arrives in River City, he convinces the locals to start a band by purchasing the uniforms and instruments from him. His intention is to flee as soon as he receives the money. Librarian Marian Paroo suspects Harold is a fraud, but holds her tongue since her moody brother, Winthrop, is excited about the band. As Harold begins to develop feelings for Marian, he faces a difficult decision about skipping town.