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Theater - 1987-1988

Mrs Warren's Profession October 7–10, 1987 A play by George Bernard Shaw *Production Staff* Directors: James Fisher, David Schulz '88 Scenic and Lighting Designer: Rob Hartz Costume Designer: Laura Conners Stage Manager: John Flak '90 Assistant Stage Manager: Jim Bedinger '91 *Cast List* Vivie Warren: Dana Warner Fisher Praed: Kaizaad Navroze Kotwal '91 Mrs. Warren: Amelia Penland Sir George Crofts: Nick Roth '88 Frank Gardener: Jim Amidon '87 The Rev. Samuel Gardener: Alvin Schuh '88 *Production Assistance* Running Crew: Aron Davis '91 Props: Jeff Morris Sound: Peter Keenan '89, Will French Graphics: Laura Conners Mrs. Warren's Profession, the third play by Irish dramatist and social reformer George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was written in 1894. The story of the shadowy Mrs. Warren and her daughter, Vivie, a “modern woman, was, as Shaw said himself, “written to draw attention to the truth that prostitution is caused, not by female depravity and male licentiousness, but simply by underpaying, undervaluing, and overworking women so shamefully that the poorest of them are forced to resort to prostitution to keep body and soul together…”. But beyond that, and most particularly for a modern audience, Shaw said, “… I have gone straight to the fact that, as Mrs. Warrn puts it, ‘the only way for a woman to provide herself decently is for her to be good to some man who can afford to be good to her'…I believe that any society which desires to found itself on a high standard of integrity of character in its units should organize itself in such a fashion as to make it possible for all men and women to maintain themselves in reasonable comfort by their industry without selling their affections and their convictions.” This page is part of an ongoing project to document the history of the theatre productions performed at Wabash College. If you have information not included on this page, please contact the Theater Department or Professor Dwight Watson (watsond@wabash.edu).	Poster

Fortune and Men's Eyes November 18–21, 1987 A play by John Herber *Production Staff* Director: Geoffrey Newman This controversial prison drama first stunned audiences in the late 1960s with its graphic depiction for the power games played behind bars. The all-male five-character play begins when a youth is thrown into prison and shares a cell with a flamboyant homosexual and his tough bunkmate. The youth tentatively announces, “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but I’m not queer,” but his cell-mates, who have recently victimized a young black prisoner, have other plans. This results in the “conversion” of the youth, who becomes a tyrant ruling the cell. He beats up the tough and then himself victimizes the black youth. The drama explodes into an intense exploration of the shifting relationship of the ill-fated cell-mates. Fortune and Men’s Eyes was first produced at Wabash College in 1973. When the play was originally produced in New York, the New York Post critic stated, “Nothing I have seen in many a long pale month has moved me so profoundly.” This page is part of an ongoing project to document the history of the theatre productions performed at Wabash College. If you have information not included on this page, please contact the Theater Department or Professor Dwight Watson (watsond@wabash.edu).

Loot February 17–20, 1988 A play by Joe Orton *Production Staff* Director: Dwight Watson Joe Orton’s dark face is a scathing satire on money, the police, the Catholic Church, and several other sacred institutions. In the front parlor the principal object of which is a coffin, Mr. Orton has constructed a Wildean drawing-room comedy of the blackest hue. The corpse in the coffin, who is the mother of a young bank robber, is dumped upside down in a closet so that the young thief and his accomplice, an undertaker’s assistant, can use the coffin as a hiding place for their stolen money. The wild adventures that occur among the thieves, a nurse who was with the dead woman at her death, the widowed husband, and a corrupt and brutal police inspector make for a vitriolic, deadly serious black comedy that makes most other drama in this genre seem genteel. As critic William Glover noted, the play “seethes with black, baleful mirth. Cudgels traditional morality.” The current film Prick Up Your Ears deals with the life and tragic death of Joe Orton. This page is part of an ongoing project to document the history of the theatre productions performed at Wabash College. If you have information not included on this page, please contact the Theater Department or Professor Dwight Watson (watsond@wabash.edu).	Photo Album Poster

Runaways April 20–23 and May 13–14, 1988 Music, lyrics and libretto by Elizabeth Swados *Production Staff* Director: Geoffrey Newman Assistant Director: Matthew Brown '88 Musical Director: Myles Hernandez Asst. Musical Director: Jerilyn Holston Scenic and Lighting Designer: Rob Hartz Costume Designer: Tim Philips Choreographer: Roger Riggle Stage Manager: Jim Kurtz '85 Asst. Stage Managers: Jay Krause '91, Jim Fuk, Terry Jackson '88, Mathe Vanheeswijk Assistant to the Choreographer: Brian Nietzel and Jim Kockert *Cast List* Barney: Jay Baltisberger '89 Eric: Simon Bogigan Manny: Ed Broecker '88 Jerome: Ben Brown '89 Mex-Mong Scott Carcillo Mark: Chris Cochran '90 Sundar: Ishmael Dengate Karin: Pam Ehrie Lazar: Glenn Elrod '91 A.J.: Arthur Equihua '89 Di Diosdado Gica '90 Judy: Lisa Goldman Roby: Mark Hayes '88 Michael: Jason Hood '91 Nikki: Katherine Klein Eddie: Jim Kochert Hubbell: Kaizaad Kotwal '91 Fats: Roland Morin '91 Susie: Joie O'Neal EZ: Adam Price '88 Iggy: Seande Pulley Luis: Jamie Stallcup Raul: Blake Sterzinger '91 Toby: Ansley Valentine '90 Jackie: Ramona Zachary *Production Assistance* Conductor/Pianist: J. Eric Johnson '76 Master Electrician: Jay Baltisberger '89 Lightboard Operator: Sean Garvey '89 Soundboard Operator and Technician: Peter Keenan '89 Propsmaster: Drew Freyman '90 Sign Language Coach: Cindy McDonald Keyboard and Percussion: J. Eric Johnson '76 Pian Jerilyn Holtson Guitar: Bob Bowers '91, Adam Brazus '88, Mary Tuohy Bass Guitar: Dave Hawksworth '88 Saxophone: Jeb Ball '88, Ed Ciolkowski '88 Rehearsal Pianist and Vocal Coach: Jerilyn Holtson Like A Chorus Line, Runaways was first produced as Joe Papp's Publice Theatre. And like A Chorus Line it is essentially a chamber musical allowing a collection of people to come forward with their histories and personal problems. This 1978 musical recounts the often humorous, often harrowing experiences of children who have run away from home. Their highly individual stories bring the characters together with a freshness and roughness rarely encountered in the contemporary musical theater. The score includes an hilarious satiric number called “Where Are Those People Who Did ‘Hair'?” as well as several memorable songs. The New York Times critic labeled the piece a “musical collage” and wrote: “Elizabeth Swados makes us eavesdrop on the sufferings of children. That sounds ominous but it isn't… The calligraphy of childhood is one of the wonders of nature even when the message it writes is heartbreaking.” NOTE: This production was the first musical production at Wabash College in over ten years. This page is part of an ongoing project to document the history of the theatre productions performed at Wabash College. If you have information not included on this page, please contact the Theater Department or Professor Dwight Watson (watsond@wabash.edu).	Poster