2014-2015 Season

On September 25 at 8pm the Department of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University premiered “The Mountaintop” on The Eva Marie Saint stage. This production is a re-imagination of the events the night before King’s assassination in Memphis, Tenn. Playwright Katori Hall’s compelling drama, produced on Broadway, provides a controversial portrait of the civil rights icon. Production dates included Sept. 25-28 at 8 p.m. Sept. 27 and 28 at 2pm. 

The dead rise up in the iconic 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead.” They rose again onstage October 23-26 in the Donnell Theatre. The reenactment retains the gore of the film, making it even bigger and “not so delicate,” according to faculty member Kelly Mangan, who oversees scenic art, prop design and construction. “You might see entire spleens as opposed to just small pieces falling off.”

Widely regarded as the beginning of the modern zombie genre, the film and now the play focus on the testing of personal relationships. “For some people, those monsters were nothing but a catalyst,” revealing the way relationships and families are affected when stress is introduced. The zombies struck at 8 p.m. on Oct. 23, 24 and 25, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 25 and 26.

On November 13 the Department of Theatre and Film premiered “Book of Days” in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre.  The sleepy town of Dublin, Missouri has always been dominated by the hymns of the local fundamentalist congregation and the whistle of the nearby cheese factory. While Ruth Hoch has never quite fit in, she had success working at the latter and avoiding the disapproval of the former—until a starring role in a local production of Saint Joan and the suspicious death of a local resident thrusts her into the center of small town intrigue, politics, and morality.  Production dates were November 13-16 and 20-22.

The pain, laughter and bickering of siblings who remember family instances quite differently is at the heart of  Shelagh Stephenson’s “The Memory of Water,” which premiered on February 19 in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre.

On the eve of their mother's funeral, three sisters return to the family home on the coast of England. While a winter storm rages, the sisters wait for the day of the funeral, attend to their mother's final affairs, revisit memories of their childhoods, and reflect upon their futures. Because their memories have been diluted by time and fantasy, they are incapable of agreeing on any interpretation of the past; it is clear, however, that after the events of their two days together, each of their futures will be forever altered.  “The Memory of Water” received the Laurence Olivier Award for best new comedy in 2000.

Winner of three TONY Awards, three Outer Critic’s Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, and two Obie Awards, “Urinetown” is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself! Hilariously funny and touchingly honest, “Urinetown” provides a fresh perspective of one of America’s greatest art forms.

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. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides he's had enough, and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!