LINDSAY TOMAKA
Special to The Leader
Sultry love affairs, witty comedy and audience participation are all things to look forward to with this semester’s Fall theatre productions.
Last July, theatre students already knew what to expect for the semester and were preparing; by the first week of school they were already hard at work auditioning and rehearsing for the show.
The Walter Gloor Mainstage Series event “Cabaret” will be the first show to be performed and is a musical set in Berlin during the rise of Nazi power. It follows a young Sally Bowles, a cabaret singer at the Kit Kat Klub who falls in love with writer Clifford Bradshaw.
Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance Tom Loughlin is the director of this musical that will be performed Oct. 14, 15, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 18 at 2 p.m. in the Marvel Theatre. Tickets for this Christopher Isherwood masterpiece, which has been revived for Broadway and London seven times, are $25.
Also a part of the Walter Gloor Mainstage Series is “Six Characters in Search of an Author.” This is a quirky Italian play by Luigi Pirandello that will be performed in the Bartlett Theatre on Nov. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.
An acting company’s rehearsal is interrupted by six people who are unfinished characters searching for an author to finish their story. The New York Times described it as an “illuminating production that shows just how well he [Pirandello] knew what he was doing, and just how relevant he continues to be.”
This play will be directed by James Ivey and focuses on the relationship between authors and characters. It’s a unique play that viewers will either love or hate. Tickets for this play are $20.
Also being performed Nov. 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. is the operetta “The Merry Widow” in the Marvel Theatre; there is also a final matinee showing Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
“The Merry Widow” is set in the Pontevedrian Embassy of Paris and revolves around rich widow Hanna Glawari who is attending a ball to celebrate the Grand Duke. The ambassador, who is also attending, is hoping to find Hanna the right Pontevedrian man to marry so her money will stay in the country, and they don’t fall into bankruptcy. Tickets for Franz Lehár’s operetta, which features some of the most famous music in opera, can be purchased for $25.
Lastly, “Snow White” will be held in the Marvel Theatre on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. This show is a classic tale with a twist. Audience members will be brought onstage to participate and play roles in the play. Tickets for this humorous piece, a part of the Kaleidoscope Family Series, cost $12.
“The Department of Theatre and Dance is overflowing with talent; we are in the Golden Age right now.” says Ted Sharon, who will be directing “James and The Giant Peach” in the Spring. “The combined creative force of faculty, staff, and students promises for an exciting and inspiring season on the mainstage, as well as on the numerous fringe projects produced right here on campus.”
Tickets are available now and can be purchased in the Ticket Office located in the Williams Center.