BGSU theatre and film to open 88th season

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Subscriptions and single tickets are available for the Bowling Green State University Department of Theatre and Film’s 88th season.

The 2009-10 theatre season will feature BGSU student performers in a variety of dramas, comedies and musicals, including several collaborative productions and opening Oct. 1 with “Burning Patience” by Antonio Skármeta.

Translated by Marion Peter Holt, the play is Skármeta’s stage adaptation of his novel, “Ardiente paciencia (Burning Patience),” which is also the source material for the 1995 Academy Award-nominated Italian film “Il postino (The Postman).” Sara Chambers, an instructor of theatre and film, will direct the production in University Hall’s Joe E. Brown Theatre.
 
Other scheduled fall productions are:
• “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” opening Oct. 22 in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre in University Hall. BGSU will produce the 1999 Broadway version of the musical, a fresh approach to the 1967 classic; both versions are Drama Desk Award winners. Directing will be theatre doctoral student Macaela Carder.

• “Don Quixote,” the fall opera, Nov. 6 and 8 in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center. This doubleheader will feature the Bowling Green Opera Theater production of Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho” and the Madcap Puppets production of “Master Peter’s Puppet Show,” an opera written for puppets by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Both pieces are based on Cervantes’ classic tale of obsession and adventure. Directed by Dr. Ronald Shields, a professor and chair of theatre and film, the production is a partnership pairing the theatre and film department and BGSU’s College of Musical Arts with Cincinnati-based Madcap Puppets.

• “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, opening Dec. 3 in the Brown Theatre. Dr. Jonathan Chambers, an associate professor of theatre and film, will direct the satire of Victorian social hypocrisy, considered Wilde’s greatest dramatic achievement.

Spring-semester productions begin with Neena Beber’s “Jump/Cut,” opening Feb. 4 in the Brown Theatre. Directing the drama, which looks into the lives of three young friends determined to make their mark on the world, will be Dr. Ben Powell, an instructor of theatre and film.

Also on the spring schedule are:
• “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani, opening Feb. 25 in the Brown Theatre. Theatre doctoral student Tim Schaffer will direct the comic tale, which, with a cast of exclusively first-year and transfer students. is also the annual BGSU Newcomers show.

• “Working,” a musical from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, opening March 25 in the Brown Theatre. Based on Terkel’s best-selling book of interviews with American workers, “Working” conveys their hopes, dreams, joys and concerns. Directing will be Dr. Geoff Stephenson, an instructor of theatre and film.

• “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht, translated by David Hare, opening April 15 in the Saint Theatre. Theatre doctoral student Darin Kerr will direct Brecht’s commentary on war and peace.

Fall and spring theatre subscriptions are available and include one ticket to each of the four productions in the semester for $40. Single tickets are $12 for students and other adults, $6 for children and $5 for senior citizens. Discounted ticket rates are available for group purchases. For tickets or more information, contact the theatre box office at 419-372-2719.

The Department of Theatre and Film also offers numerous film screenings, including film festivals and student works, in addition to the “Tuesdays at the Gish” film series. Free and open to the public at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the Gish Film Theater, the series is sponsored by the department and presented by The Culture Club: Cultural Studies Scholars’ Association.

More information about the theatre season, “Tuesdays at the Gish” and other film screenings is available at www.bgsu.edu/theatrefilm or by contacting Elizabeth Guthrie, the department’s publicity and house manager, at 419-372-5404 or eguthri@bgsu.edu.

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(Posted September 14, 2009 )