MANSFIELD — The Ohio State University at Mansfield has announced its 2016-17 theater schedule and first auditions.
The autumn of 2016 offers two productions:
The Pajama Game
Book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell. Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. Produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
A union strike at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory generates plenty of steam heat in this toe-tapping comedic love story. Sparks fly between the new superintendent and the leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship comes to a head when the workers strike for a 7½-cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor, but a battle of the sexes as well.
This energetic score brims with songs and dances that have become musical theatre standards, including “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.”
Performances: Thursday Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.*, Friday Oct. 7 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m.
Auditions for the Pajama Game are at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21 and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24 (with additional dates as needed) in Founders Auditorium.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Some of the most quoted lines in all of Shakespeare’s works highlight this tragedy about politics and deceit. Revisit a world pulled apart by a charismatic leader, a viper’s den of political operatives, the search for nobility in the midst of corruption and backroom deals, and crowds easily swayed by a silver-tongued master of opportunism and manipulation.
Performances: Friday, Nov. 4 at 9:30 a.m. (High School TBA), Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.*, Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.
Auditions for the Tragedy of Julius Caesar are at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21 and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24 (with additional dates as needed) in Founders Auditorium.
Spring of 2017 includes two productions in one show.
God of Carnage
By Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton is produced by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.
A playground fight between 11-year-old boys brings together two sets of parents for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.
“(A) streamlined anatomy of the human animal … delivers the cathartic release of watching other people’s marriages go boom. A study in the tension between civilized surface and savage instinct, this play is itself a satisfyingly primitive entertainment,” — NY Times.
And excerpts from Blockbusters, Inc.
A New Play by Joseph Fahey and Renee Thompson
It’s Cleveland, 1968, and Bill and Ronnie are pros. They bust blocks in four easy steps: 1. Sell one house in a white neighborhood to a black family, 2. Terrify the neighbors into selling out at rock-bottom prices, 3. Buy those houses, hike the price, and sell to new black families, 4. Repeat.
Business is BOOMING … until their new secretary takes them for a ride.
Performances: Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m.,* Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m.
Auditions: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 and Wednesday, Jan. 18 (with additional dates as needed) in Founders Auditorium.
For more information, email Joseph Fahey at Fahey.9@osu.edu or call 216 392-1199
