MANSFIELD — The Ohio State University at Mansfield’s theatre season includes an Agatha Christie murder mystery, A Halloween Movie Showing with Jump-Scare actors, an original work honoring the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, and an audience-participation musical comedy.
Auditions for the three autumn shows are open to the public, and they will take place Tuesday, Aug. 29 and Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. in Founders Auditorium.
The first show is The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.
After a local woman is murdered, the guests and staff at Monkswell Manor find themselves stranded during a snowstorm. It soon becomes clear that the killer is among them. “A masterpiece … Of all the stage versions of Christie’s books, The Mousetrap is by far the best.” – The Chicago Tribune Performances are Friday, Oct. 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday Oct. 22 at 2:30 p.m., and Monday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Produced by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
The second offering is a Halloween weekend movie showing of Night of the Living Dead, directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, and written by George A. Romero and John Russo.
This first modern zombie film has a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls.
Romero’s claustrophobic vision of a late-1960s America literally tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combining gruesome gore with social commentary and broke new ground by casting black actor Duane Jones in its lead role.
There will be three showings, including two with live actors offering extra scares: Thursday, Oct. 26 at 10:30 p.m. (jump-scare version with live actors), Sunday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. (traditional version with no extra scares), and Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m (jump-scare version with live actors).
There is no charge for this event.
The next performance is a special veterans’ day weekend event: A Horse Named Reckless.
This play tells the true story or Sergeant Reckless, a small chestnut mare who fought alongside U.S. Marines and became one of their own during the Korean War. She was wounded in combat twice and became the first horse in the Marine Corps known to have participated in an amphibious landing.
She grew from a scared scrawny wreck to a fierce battle-tested hero and was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, and Presidential Unit Citations from two countries.
In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the armistice, this original work is being created to honor Sergeant Reckless and all who served.
Performances are Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m. There is no charge for this event.
The final show of the 2023-2024 season is The Trail to Oregon! An audience-participation musical comedy originally produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim, book by Nick Lang, Matt Lang, Brian Holden, & Jeff Blim, an arranged by Clark Baxtresser & Pierce Siebers.
Based off of the ‘90’s video game “The Oregon Trail,” this crowd participation musical follows an All-American family as they make their way from Missouri to Oregon in 1848.
During their journey, they encounter the prospect of starvation, bandits, snakebite, and dysentery. Just like the game, you can name the family members and choose the play’s ending.
Packed full of improvisation, this fun musical is the perfect way to finish off your day (and perhaps a pioneer family).
The Trail to Oregon! is presented through special arrangement with Jeff Blim and Team Starkid: teamstarkid.com.
Performances are Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m., and Monday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Auditions for this musical will be held Tuesday, Nov. 14 and Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in Founders Auditorium. Auditions are open to everyone.
Tickets for Mousetrap and Trail to Oregon are $10 and $6 and can be purchased at 419 755-
4045 or mansfieldtheatre@osu.edu. You can also purchase tickets at the on-site box office in Founders Auditorium in the 45 minutes before each show.
For events with no charge, you can simply come to the theatre in the 30 minutes before the start of any show.
If you have questions about auditions or anything related to these shows or the campus theater program, please contact Joseph Fahey at fahey.9@osu.edu or 419 755-4276.