Programs from UMN Morris Theatre Discipline and Meiningens productions.
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Torch Song Trilogy, April 25-28, 1990
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein and directed by Raine Hokan.
Synopsis: Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag queen, and torch singer who lives in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The four-hour play begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his cynical disillusionment with love.
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Of Mice & Men, February 1-4, 1989
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck and directed by Dan Perdue.
Synopsis: Based on the classic novella written by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two great friends and their struggle to live the American dream. George and Lennie have been traveling together from ranch to ranch for years, working hard to make ends meet and save enough for a place of their own. The two are polar opposites: George is intelligent, quick and small, while Lennie is slow-minded, childlike, and giant. Though they are different, they care deeply about each other. They have been dreaming for years to save enough for a little land of their own, and when they are both hired to a new job they believe that they may finally achieve their goal. But trouble begins to brew when one of the bosses’ wife becomes too interested in the infatuated Lennie…Tragic yet beautiful, Of Mice and Men is an extremely popular play that has become a staple of American theatre.
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Scrooge, December 14-17, 1989
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota Morris production of Scrooge by Leslie Bricusse and directed by Christi Madison.
Synopsis: A musical adaptation of the 1970 musical film Scrooge, based off of Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.
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Six Short Plays, February 22-25, 1989
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Six Short Plays consisting of:
This Property is Condemned by Tennessee Williams; Before Breakfast by Eugene O’Neill; Playgoers by Arthur Wing Pinero; Susugigawa (The Washing Bucket) by Kyogen; The Lesson by Eugene Ionesco; Augustus by Jean Anouilh and Jean Aurenche. All directed by Raymond J.Lammers.
Synopsis: This Property is Condemned -- Willie, a 13-year old girl from Mississippi, is world-weary before her time. She dropped out of school years ago, her family died, and now she lives alone in their condemned boarding house and dreams of becoming a whore. One day as she walks on the railroad tracks, she meets 16-year-old Tom.
Before Breakfast -- A woman, while preparing breakfast for her husband (heard off-stage), complains of her struggles to make ends meet. The husband, once considered a desirable catch, has steadily degenerated until he is no longer good for anything. When his wife has said everything hateful and bitter that is in her, she subsides into silence. A moment later we know that the desperate man in the next room has just cut his throat.
Playgoers -- Satire is a genre of literature where vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings in humans and their institutions are held up to ridicule with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into reform. While satire is generally meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is generally constructive social criticism.
Susugigawa (The Washing Bucket) -- Susugigawa is a pivotal play in post–World War II kyōgen. An adaptation of the medieval French farce Le Cuvier and virtually indistinguishable from traditional plays, its success marked the beginning of the "kyōgen boom." This introduction traces the many permutations of the play, from its first shingeki (modern Japanese theatre) adaption to recent bilingual and English-language kyōgen productions.
The Lesson -- An elderly professor and his young female student experience what must certainly be the most remarkable and bizarre lesson in the history of pedagogy. It ends with murder.
Augustus -- Humulus is silent. But a doctor managed to give him the opportunity to say "a word" a day. Humulus made a big decision: save his words, for thirty days, in order to be able to make a statement to the one he loves, even if he does not send the traditional wishes to the Duchess, his grandmother to have his blessing and to inherit his fortune, for the new year. When the big day arrives (that of the declaration), the thirty words are said: "Would you like to repeat, please," asks the beloved. Because, a little hard of hearing, she did not hear anything and takes out an acoustic horn from her bag! So he loses both.
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Private Lives, 1988
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Private Lives by Noel Coward and directed by Laura A. Lehner.
Synopsis: In Private Lives, passion, laughter, romance, anger, and love set the stage for a battle of the sexes as divorced couple, Amanda and Elyot, find themselves unwittingly thrown together in Coward’s classic comedy of manners. Unknowingly booking adjoining rooms while on honeymoon with their respective spouses, Victor and Sybil, Amanda and Elyot are forced to face their true feelings for each other. Realizing they have made a pair of mistaken marriages, the divorcees attempt to escape their mismatched partners. With haste, and under the cover of darkness, they flee their honeymoon hotel and unsuspecting spouses in search of privacy at Amanda’s secluded Paris flat. Despite their passion for each other, Amanda and Elyot begin to bicker violently, just as they had done during their marriage. It is clear that the couple cannot live with each other, but cannot live without each other either. When they are discovered several days later by their jilted spouses, all four lovers must finally acknowledge just who is really suited to whom. Fast-paced, witty, and passionate, Noel Coward’s comedy is a delightful romp.
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She Stoops to Conquer, 1988
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith and directed by Raymond Lammers.
Synopsis: One of the eighteenth-century’s most enduring comedies, She Stoops to Conquer takes a comedic, often farcical, look at the behavior and marital expectations of the upper classes in England at this time. The play centers around the desire of Hardcastle, a wealthy landowner in the country, for his daughter, Kate Hardcastle, to marry the well-educated Charles Marlow. Together with Marlow’s father, Sir Charles Marlow, they arrange for the younger Marlow to visit the Hardcastle’s house and court Kate. However Kate is less than impressed when she finds out that, despite his otherwise strong, respectable character, Charles is extremely shy and reserved around ladies. She therefore vows to herself that she could never marry him. Before Charles and his friend, George Hastings, can arrive at the house, they are waylaid by Mr. Hardcastle’s stepson at the local alehouse. A mischievous joker, Tony Lumpkin persuades them that the Hardcastle’s house is, in fact, the local inn. Thus, when Marlow and Hastings arrive, Marlow treats the Hardcastle family with impudence and disrespect, falsely believing them to be servants there. In order to get to the bottom of his true character, Kate disguises herself as a maid and comedy ensues as Marlow makes love to the “maid” and disregards her father. Meanwhile, George Hastings is thrilled to find his true love, Constance Neville, living at the Hardcastle’s house. Through the scheming of Mrs. Hardcastle, she is due to marry Tony, despite their mutual dislike of each other. Finding a way to get out of his marriage, Tony helps Constance to retrieve her inheritance and gets his mother out of the way, dumping her in a local horsepond! Finally, as Marlow’s father arrives, all is put to right and Charles Marlow is mortified by his behavior. Forgiven by all, the two couples find happiness with each other, and Tony successfully gains his rightful inheritance without an unwanted engagement.
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A Toby Show, May 16-17, 1986
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of A Toby Show by Aurand Harris and directed by Raymond J. Lammers.
A Toby Show brings back to the stage an American folk character of Toby, a country bumpkin who through naiveté, honesty and homespun humor outwits the city slickers. Toby is a great role for an energetic actor. The play is a colorful segment of American drama. This farce melodrama recreates traditional situations and stock characters through jokes and stage business. Starring in Cinderella, Toby enacts a comic variation of the fairy godmother. With music and specialty numbers, the production excitingly evokes the joy of experiencing an authentic example of American folk theatre, fitting for children of all ages.
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True West, February 12-15, 1986
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of True West by Sam Shepard and directed by Gregory Beech.
Synopsis: True West is a character study that examines the relationship between Austin, a screenwriter, and his older brother Lee. It is set in the kitchen of their mother's home 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Austin is house-sitting while their mother is in Alaska, and there he is confronted by his brother, who proceeds to bully his way into staying at the house and using Austin's car. In addition, the screenplay which Austin is pitching to his connection in Hollywood somehow gets taken over by the pushy con-man tactics of Lee, and the brothers find themselves forced to cooperate in the creation of a story that will make or break both their lives. In the process, the conflict between the brothers creates a heated situation in which their roles as successful family man and nomadic drifter are somehow reversed, and each man finds himself admitting that he had somehow always wished he were in the other's shoes.
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Waiting for Godot, April 16-19, 1986
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett and directed by Timothy J. Goodmanson.
Synopsis: The NY World-Telegram describes: "GODOT cannot be compared to any other theater work, because its purpose is so different. Two dilapidated bums fill their days as painlessly as they can. They wait for Godot, a personage who will explain their interminable insignificance, or put an end to it. They are resourceful, with quarrels and their dependence on each other, as children are. They pass the time 'which would have passed anyway.' A brutal man of means comes by, leading a weakling slave who does his bidding like a mechanical doll. Later on he comes back, blind, and his slave is mute, but the relationship is unchanged. Every day a child comes from the unknown Godot, and evasively puts the big arrival off until tomorrow…It is a tragic view. Yet, in performance, most of it is brilliant, bitter comedy…It is a portrait of the dogged resilience of a man's spirit in the face of little hope."
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Godspell, November 20-23, 1985
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Godspell by John Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz and directed by Karen Wiese.
Synopsis: Based on the Gospel according to Matthew, Godspell is the first musical theatre offering from composer Stephen Schwartz who went on to write such well-known hits as Wicked, Pippin, and Children of Eden. The show features a comedic troupe of eccentric players who team up with Jesus to teach his lessons in a new age through parables, games, and tomfoolery.
Godspell also features the international hit, “Day by Day”, as well as an eclectic blend of songs ranging from pop to vaudeville, as Jesus’ life is played out onstage. Even after the haunting crucifixion, Jesus’ message of kindness, tolerance and love lives vibrantly on.
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J.B., April 24-27, 1985
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of J.B. by Archibald McLeish directed by Licia Swanson.
Synopsis: A fresh and exalting morality that has great stature. It is one of the memorable works of the century as verse, as drama and as spiritual inquiry...We are deep in the unanswered problems of man's relationship to God in an era of cruel injustices. J.B. is Mr. MacLeish's counterpart of the immortal Job. The glory of the play is that, as in the Book of Job, J.B. does not curse God. When he is reunited with his wife, two humbled but valiant people accept the universe, agree to begin life all over again, expecting no justice but unswerving in their devotion to God... In every respect, it is theatre on its highest level.-The New York Times
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Ubu Rex, February 27-28 & March 1-2, 1985
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Ubu Rex by Alfred Jarry and directed by George Fosgate.
Synopsis: Ubu Rex, David Copelin's translation of the world's first absurdist play, Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, unmasks the savagery just below the surface of "normal" human behavior. The play's premiere in Paris in 1896 caused a riot. Set in "Poland – that is to say, nowhere", the play satirizes governments, philosophies, Shakespeare, and the greed and vanity of ordinary human beings. It is also very funny.
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As You Like It, February 22-25, 1984
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare and directed by Raymond Lammers.
Synopsis: In one of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic pastoral comedies, we follow the young heroine Rosalind from the court of her vindictive uncle, Duke Frederick, into the Eden-like Forest of Arden, where her banished father is living in exile. In order to avoid running into trouble, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, “Ganymede,” and, accompanied by her faithful cousin Celia and the court clown, Touchstone, makes her way into the woods. She soon encounters the young, handsome Orlando, who is also fleeing from Duke Frederick’s court, and who is sick with love for Rosalind. Still disguised as Ganymede, Rosalind tests Orlando’s feelings for her and teaches him about the nature of true love; by the end of the play, four love matches have been made in the forest. As You Like It is an entertaining and touching exploration of life, death, love, family and the bonds that tie us together.
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Mixed Doubles, July 5-8;19-21 1984
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Mixed Doubles by Fred Carmichael and directed by George C. Fosgate.
Synopsis: Two interwoven one acts, Love Means Never Having to Say You're Forty and Leonard, these plays feature flexible casting since three characters appear in both plays. In the first, a separated middle aged couple are in the connecting suites of a Mexican motelto have a fling. Their accidental confrontation makes them realize the importance of their years together. In the farcical second act, a golden age couple, unmarried because of tax benefits, is in one suite and a group of inept heroin smugglers is in the other.
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Scrooge, December 19-22, 1984
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Scrooge adapted by Leslie Bricusse and directed by George c. Fosgate.
Synopsis: This timeless musical follows the plot of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of a Christmas Eve night, after being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
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Hay Fever, Summer 1982
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Hay Fever by Noel Coward directed by Raymond Lammers.
Synopsis: Hay Fever is one of Noel Coward’s most durable comedies, continuing to delight audiences with its astute observations on family relationships and rivalries. The action takes place in the house of the Bliss family over the course of a weekend. Judith Bliss, a retired actress, her writer husband David, and their two grown-up children, Simon and Sorel, have all privately invited guests for the weekend, unbeknownst to anyone else. As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that it is not them who will be the problem, but the family themselves. Although Judith has supposedly retired from the stage, the nightmare weekend becomes her own private play, and her family become the supporting actors. Over the top and theatrical in their actions, the Bliss family delight in winding each other up and provoking a dramatic reaction from each other. As the weekend wears on, each guest pairs off with the wrong person with dramatic effects. Confused and angered by the strange behaviour of the their hosts, the guests all agree that they must leave straight away. Creeping out of the house, they are unnoticed by the Bliss family who are, once again, engaged in a daft, passionate argument about David’s book. Although it is not packed with as many witty one liners as many of Coward’s plays are, Hay Fever provides a shrewd, farcical look at a dysfunctional family oblivious to their ill-mannered behavior.
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A Thousand Clowns, February 26-28 and March 1, 1975
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of A Thousand Clowns by Herb Gardner and directed by Alan L. Anderson.
Synopsis: The year is 1962 and bachelor uncle Murray Burns is endeavoring to rear his precocious nephew in N.Y.C. He has tired of writing cheap comedy for a children's television program and finds himself unemployed with some free time to saunter through New York and do everything he has always wanted to do: like standing on Park Avenue in the dawn's early light and hollering, "All right, all you rich people; everybody out in the street for volleyball." When Social Services arrive on the scene to insure that the nephew is receiving a proper upbringing, he finds himself solving their problems. Eventually, he must go back to work or lose his nephew, or he might marry the social worker. In any case, he remains one of the funniest non-conformists of the stage.
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Medea, February 12-15, 1975
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Medea by Euripides, adapted by Rex Warner and directed by Raymond J. Lammers.
Synopsis: In a continuation of the stories of Jason and the Argonauts, foreign princess and sorceress Medea has murdered her own father to help Jason win the Golden Fleece and the kingdom of Thessaly. They have married and have two sons. Now in ancient Corinth, Medea is told that Jason will be marrying the Corinthian princess. The King of Corinth, anticipating her wrath, sends her into exile. She plans revenge against Jason and negotiates safe haven with the naïve King of Athens. Through her magic, she kills the Corinthian king and princess, Jason’s intended, and, in a final act of vengeance, kills her two sons by Jason. She escapes justice, taken to the sky on the back of a chariot, with the bodies of her children. One of ancient Greek drama’s most famous plays, The Medea resonates with audiences through emotionally charged characters placed in impossible circumstances, constrained by their social, political, gender, and familial roles.
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The House of Blue Leaves, November 20-23, 1974
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare and directed by Donald Webster.
Synopsis: rtie Shaugnessy is a songwriter with visions of glory. Toiling by day as a zookeeper, he suffers in seedy lounges by night, plying his wares at piano bars in Queens, New York, where he lives with his wife, Bananas, much to the chagrin of Artie’s downstairs mistress, Bunny Flingus, who’ll sleep with him anytime but refuses to cook until they are married. On the day the Pope is making his first visit to the city, Artie’s son Ronny goes AWOL from Fort Dix, stowing a homemade bomb intended to blow up the Pope in Yankee Stadium. Also arriving are Artie’s old school chum, now a successful Hollywood producer, Billy Einhorn, with starlet girlfriend in tow, who holds the key to Artie’s dreams of getting out of Queens and away from the life he so despises. But like many dreams, this promise of glory evaporates amid the chaos of ordinary lives.
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The Star-Spangled Girl, November 6-9, 1974
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Star-Spangled Girl by Neil Simon and directed by George Fosgate.
Synopsis Andy and Norman are two earnest young men using their apartment as a publishing office for a "protest" magazine in San Francisco. Sophie, an Olympic swimmer and all-American girl, moves into another apartment on the same floor. Sophie makes her first appearance paying a good-neighbor visit to the combination home and office of the two publishers. Her friendliness and charm leave Norman hopelessly smitten. Thereafter love, with him, is a determined madness, with the humor of it heightened by her frantic rejection of him. Meanwhile, his partner is fielding telephone calls from the irate printer who wants to collect the money due him, and distracting the landlady from thoughts of back rent with motorcycle rides and surfing expeditions. And while she is convinced that they are editing a dangerously subversive magazine, our heroine soon finds that her real source of annoyance is that the wrong man is pressing his attentions on her. Happily this situation is reversed in time, as love and politics blend delightfully in a bubbling series of funny happenings, set forth with the masterly skill and inventiveness that are the hallmarks of Neil Simon.
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Electra, May 12-15, 1965
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of Electra by Sophocles and directed by Raymond Lammers.
Synopsis Electra is a saga about murder and revenge. Agamemnon, the father of the house, was killed by his unfaithful wife, Clytaemnestra, with the help of her sinister lover, Aegisthus, as retribution for having sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia, to the gods. Meanwhile, her son Orestes was spirited away by their faithful servant Tutor in order to safeguard him against a similar fate. Though Clytaemnestra's weak-willed daughter, Chrysothemis, has made peace with the situation, her defiant sister, Electra, still bemoans her father's fate. Electra awaits the return of the grown Orestes in the hopes that he might to avenge their father's death. The action of Sophocles' play focuses on the inner turmoil and laments of Electra, who feels incapable of acting alone.
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Morris Meiningens short plays, February 12-13, 1963
Theatre Arts Discipline
University of Minnesota, Morris production of short plays Three for Fun, Take back your Mink from Guys and Dolls, You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun and There’s No Business Like Show Business from Annie Get Your Gun directed by Raymond Lammers.
