ESU Theatre Announces New Season
By Emporia State University
Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Emporia State University
Emporia State University opens the upcoming theatre season next month with the popular rock musical “Little Shop of Horrors.”
In March, emeritus professor Ron Frederickson returns to ESU to direct “Nickel and Dimed” in the theatre that bears his name.
Other ESU productions will be the Greek anti-war plays “The Trojan Women” and “Lysistrata”; a popular West End melodrama, “The Woman in Black” and “Shakespeare in Hollywood,” a new farce by the author of “Lend Me a Tenor.”
Most performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Select matinee performances are presented at 2 p.m. For schedule and box office information, call the box office in the Memorial Union (toll-free) at 877-341-6378.
Season details are as follows:
‘Little Shop of
Horrors’
When: Oct. 18 through Oct. 21
Where: Albert Taylor Hall.
Written by: Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.
Directed by: Jim Bartruff
What’s it about: A hopeless schmuck sees a chance for success when he comes into possession of a bloodthirsty plant.
‘The Trojan Women’ and ‘Lysistrata’
When: Nov. 14 through Nov. 17, Nov. 28 through Nov. 30 and Dec. 1
Where: Ronald Q. Frederickson Theatre
Written by: “Trojan Women” by Euripides , adapted by John Barton and Kenneth Cavender; “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, adapted by Ellen McLaughlin
Directed by: Theresa Mitchell
What’s it about: Two Greek plays about war and its consequences. The Euripides play is a tragedy that follows the fate of Troy’s women after the city is destroyed in the Trojan War. “Lysistrata” is a comedy about women who swear to withold sex from their husbands until they end the Peloponnesian War.
‘The Woman in Black’
When: Feb. 27 through Feb. 29 and March 1
Where: Karl C. Bruder Theatre
Written by: Stephen Mallatratt
Directed by: Kyle Land
What’s it about: A chilling ghost story about a spectre that haunts an English village.
‘Nickel and Dimed’
When: March 5 through March 9 in the Ronald Q. Frederickson Theatre
Written by: Joan Holden
Directed by: Ronald Q. Frederickson
What’s it about: Based on a book by Barbara Ehrenreich about the impact of 1996’s welfare reform on the working poor in America.
‘Shakespeare in
Hollywood’
When: April 30, and May 1 through May 3
Where: Karl C. Bruder Theatre
Written by: Ken Ludwig
Directed by: Jim Ryan
What’s it about: A screwball comedy about a old-style filming of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which the fairy rulers Oberon and Titania magically appear on the set.