Playbill Preview

looking inside this season’s campus theater, from casting calls to show synopses

By Julia Bursten | Thresher Editorial Staff

Much Ado About Nothing

Baker Shakespeare Company

Directed by Matthew Radford, Actors From the London Stage

March 15-17 and 22-24

Set in the sultry climate of a Sicilian summer, Much Ado About Nothing is a strikingly modern comedy of manners and marriages first produced in 1598. Shakespeare’s plot contrasts two pairs of lovers and is told with a wit and candor that will satisfy both romantics and cynics in the audience. Tricks and illusions, both frivolous and disturbing, fill the play: disguises, deceptions, eavesdropping and hearsay are all called into service.

Don Pedro: Cameron Cooper (Brown ‘02), Don John: Baker junior Chris Turner, Benedick: Brown College senior Phillip Hodge, Claudio: Brown sophomore Will Hochstettler, Conrade: Lovett College freshman Erin Finn, Borachio: Martel College sophomore Joe Sy, Leonato: Chepe Lockett (Hanszen ‘91), Antonio: Baker senior Phil Redman

The Last Five Years

Jones College Theatre

Directed by Jones senior Carla Martinez Machain with musical director Jones senior Austin Roberts

March 22-24 and 29-30

Cathy and Jamie alternately tell their story in a series of songs that range from humorous to tragic. Cathy narrates from finish to start, beginning at the end of their shortlived marriage. Jamie does the opposite, beginning with his ecstatic reaction to his first date with Cathy. The show presents a refreshing and truthful view of young, modern love that will seem familiar to anyone who has ever been involved in a non-fairy tale romance.

Jamie: University of Houston junior Patrick Seeba, Cathy: Sid Richardson College sophomore Quinn Shadko

The Last Five Years needs an orchestra.

Violinists, cellists, bassist and guitarists, send an e-mail to austinr@rice.edu to apply.

Orange Lemon Egg Canary

Will Rice Players

Directed by Will Rice College freshman Michael Rog and sophomore Josh Levin

March 16-18 and 22-24

The plot’s as full of magic as the headline is of nouns. Orange Lemon Egg Canary tells the story of Trilby, a young waitress with a hidden agenda. She seduces the magician Great, who shares some his trade-tricks with her. Among the revelations is the particularly dangerous, somewhat mystical and widely renowned Hypnotic Balance. As Trilby and Great practice the trick, they confront ghosts and closeted skeletons amidst the act’s smoke and mirrors.

Great: Wiess College freshman Dhruv Venkatraman, Trilby: Wiess freshman Sarah Cook, Egypt: Hanszen College sophomore Brittanie Jenkins, Henrietta: Will Rice sophomore Margeux Clemmons

Sam Shepard’s True West

Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts

March 23, 24 and 29-31

Brothers Austin, a professional screenwriter, and Lee, a professional drifter, are locked in a primal struggle to prove who is the best in the West. In the process, they wreck their mother’s house and steal all the toasters in the neighborhood.

Lee: Will Rice College senior Alex Jainchill, Austin: Hanszen College senior Will Matthews, Mom: Will Rice freshman Julia Lukomnik, Saul: Visiting Lecturer Jim Huston

Reefer Madness!

Sid Richardson College#

Directed by Sid junior Andrew Sinclair

Feb. 15-17 and 22-24

Based on the hit 1936 scare film Tell Your Children, Reefer Madness tells the story of young, wholesome Mary Lane and her boyfriend, Jimmy Harper two wholesome kids deeply in love. Jimmy falls victim to the fiendish Jack and his conspirators in the Reefer Den, immersing himself in the culture of the evil drug menace that is enslaving the nation’s children 1000 times faster than cocaine, morphine and mere heroine combined. Only sex, violence, murder, mayhem, singing and dancing can ensue.

Jimmy Harper: Baker College sophomore Mark Yurewicz, The Lecturer: Sid sophomore Parker Davis, Mary Lane: Sid sophomore Marisa Young, Jack: Baker senior Derrick Huang, Mae Coleman: Jones College sophomore Andrea Albert

Talent Show

Lovett College

Written and directed by Lovett senior Jacki Craig

April 19-21 and 26-28 (tentative)

When amateur talent shows go wrong: Real talent acts perform to thrill, and character actors spoof classic — and not so classic — talents in a story underpinning the evening’s entertainment. Roaming acts will keep you entertained before and after the show.

Auditions for character acts concluded Thursday evening, but Talent Show is still accepting performers, especially jugglers and musicians. Send an e-mail to jcraig@rice.edu to schedule an audition.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Brown College

Directed by Brown sophomore Thomas Mings

Auditions: Feb. 8, 12-1 p.m. and 7:30-10 p.m., and Feb. 9, 7:30-10 p.m. in Brown Commons

Performances: April 12-14, 19 and 20

Tom Stoppard’s best-known work, an absurdist Shakespearean Laurel-and-Hardy, drifts epically after the footsteps of Waiting for Godot to reveal the hilarious meaninglessness of our lives. Sex shows too. And coin tosses.

The cast needs 10-15 players. Send e-mail to tommy.mings@rice.edu for audition information or to inquire about crew.

Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros

Rice Players

Directed by Lovett College sophomore Kate Flanagan with the assistance of Brown College freshman Timothy Danjer Faust

Feb. 16-18 and 22-24

An absurdist cultural commentary that has often been associated with World War II European anti-Nazi sentiments, Rhinoceros is the story of a guy who just cannot adjust to the society around him. Berenger drinks too much, sleeps too little and parties too hard. His friends and coworkers seem to know exactly how to deal with adult life, unlike Berenger. Then, rhinoceroses start to wreak havoc in the town. As townspeople disappear and rhinos overrun the town, Berenger struggles to find his own place in the herd.

Berenger: Baker College senior Phil Redman, Jean: Hanszen College sophomore Matt O’Connor, Daisy: Brown junior Natalie Navar, The Logician: Brown junior Stephan Hammel, The Old Gentleman: Sid Richardson College freshman Jacob Lindsey, Botard: Lovett sophomore Trevor Pittinger, Papillion: Baker sophomore Faheem Ahmed, Jahoovala The Rhinoceros King: Ben Burford (Brown ‘06)

Clue: The Musical

Martel College

Directed by Martel senior Meghan Leach with musical director Martel sophomore Bobby Anderson

March 22-24, 29, 31 and April 1

Clue: The Musical is a play and game of mystery and suspense. Every night the suspect, weapon and room change, so the audience can play along as the usual suspects manipulate each other in their efforts to get revenge on Mr. Boddy.

Mr. Boddy: Hanszen College senior Paul Rutherford, Detective: Brown sophomore Gillian Smith, Mr. Green: Martel sophomore Aditya Shashi, Col. Mustard: Wiess senior Bill Massie, Mrs. Peacock: Martel senior Liz Gitto, Prof. Plum: Martel sophomore Jonathan Goode

January 26, 2007

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