MANSFIELD – The Ohio State University at Mansfield will continue its autumn theatre season with the production of Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, Nov. 1 to 4.
In this play, a young woman finds herself suffocating in a modernized, mechanized and dehumanized society. What will she do? What would you do?
This provocative social issues drama from the 1920s was inspired by the true story of Ruth Snyder, one of the first women executed by use of the electric chair.
Playwright Sophie Treadwell was the journalist assigned to cover Snyder’s sensational murder trial. Treadwell takes viewers into the mind of the young woman to share a story of oppression, murder and competing visions of justice.
This groundbreaking play was hailed by The Independent as a play that “doesn’t loosen its hold on the senses until its shattering climax,” and by Time Out New York as “stingingly fresh and provocative.”
The New York Times also recognized Machinal as a work of “rare and disturbing beauty.”
Performance times and dates for Machinal are Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m.; and Monday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and $6 and can be purchased online, at 419 755-4045 or mansfieldtheatre@osu.edu. You can also purchase tickets at the on-site box office in Founders Auditorium 45 minutes before each show.
Joseph Fahey, theater professor and director at Ohio State Mansfield, said “Machinal” explores important questions of justice, freedom, social expectations, workplace exploitation, women’s autonomy and the pressure to conform.
“The playwright tells the story in a way that is at once shocking, funny and poignant, and the abstract Expressionist style allows for the audience to experience some extreme design choices that enhance the storytelling in unique ways,” he said.
“If I had to describe it to someone who knew nothing about the show, I’d say ‘think Edward Munch’s The Scream meets The Office meets Law and Order.’
“It is definitely a show you will see nowhere else in north central Ohio.”
If you have questions about auditions or anything related to the shows, contact Joseph Fahey at fahey.9@osu.edu or 419 755-4276.