2018
UCO’s My Fair Lady is Timeless and Ever Fresh
Cast of My Fair Lady-Photo Credit: Wendy Mutz
If there was ever an ideal model for what musical theatre should be, My Fair Lady would fit the criteria perfectly. One of the most highly-regarded musicals of all-time, the original Broadway run in 1956 starred Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. Harrison later reprised his role as Henry Higgins, next to the iconic Audrey Hepburn, in the 1964 movie. My Fair Lady follows Eliza Doolittle, a young girl from 1913 London who enlists help from a dialect coach to become a seemingly presentable lady.
The University of Central Oklahoma’s Broadway Tonight and… Continue reading
Always… Patsy Cline is Back by Popular Demand at the Pollard
Kara Chapman as Patsy Cline in Always… Patsy Cline
One of the nation’s most produced musicals is back this summer at the Pollard Theatre. Always… Patsy Cline is the true story of one of America’s most treasured musical icons and celebrates the beauty of unlikely friendship. The Pollard is closing out their excellent 31st season with this popular show, running June 8th – 30th in Guthrie. The Pollard is welcoming back Kara Chapman and Jodi Nestander to reprise the roles of the legendary songstress Patsy and her pen-pal turned best friend Louise. This production, returning by popular… Continue reading
The Lonesome West at Carpenter Square: Entertainment with a Side of Caution
Martin McDonagh is a playwright whose works are famous for two things- being based in Ireland, and violence. The second to last production of Carpenter Square Theatre’s 34th season, The Lonesome West, is no exception to that rule. Based in Galway, Ireland in 1997, The Lonesome West features two brothers who just can’t seem to get along. Their father has just been killed in an ambiguously accidental shooting by one of his two sons. Because of this, and the addition of two other recent deaths, the priest is having trouble coming to terms with the realities of the parish he’s… Continue reading
The Pollard Enchants with ‘The Little Mermaid
Jared Blount, right (Jetsam) and Emily Pace, left (Flotsam) surround and entice Emily Paige Cleek (Ariel) eelishly …..photo courtesy off JJ Design
“The Little Mermaid” is being presented at the Pollard Theatre to substantial acclaim. The movie was wonderful. It’s impossible, though, to equal special effects in animation with humans in live theatre. Co-Directors Timothy Stewart and W. Jerome Stevenson decided to concentrate on characters and story instead. (A wise decision.) Putting their efforts into choreography, music, and acting pays off. The play is an enthralling piece of theatre for young children—and all ages. Adults appear equally… Continue reading
“Always A Bridesmaid” Where There is Always A Hit at Jewel Box Theatre
“Always A Bridesmaid” cast from left to right: Carol McDonald-Walley (Sedalia Ellicott) Denise Hughes (Libby Ruth Ames) Larrissa Garvin (Kari Ames-Bissette) Amy Kelly as (Charlie Collins) Teri Hood (Monette Gentry) and Christine Jolly (Deedra Wingate) Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Always a Bridesmaid, never a bride is an old saying that usually doesn’t come true, and certainly isn’t true for the characters in the play “Always A Bridesmaid” now showing at the Jewel Box Theatre in Oklahoma City. Not the 1943 film, it is the play written 70 years later by Jones Hope Wooten, the collaboration of writers,… Continue reading
“Fun Home” Outstanding, Interesting and Insightful Fun
Lyn Cramer as Alison Bechdel in “Fun Home” at Lyric Theatre Photo Courtesy of KO Rinearson
“Fun Home” is a musical based on the autobiographical graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. Bechdel writes of her experience growing up in a small town where her father owned the Bechdel Funeral Home-hence the name ‘Fun Home.’ Young Alison has an unusually creative family. Her father is an English teacher and her mother is an actress, performing in the local community theatre. Like many little girls she worships her dad and tries very hard to please him. As a young college… Continue reading
Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” — A Triumph for Oklahoma City University
Sage Tokach (Olga) with Marae Marae Narvaez (Irina) and Kaiden Lynn Maines (Masha) in Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”
Anton Chekhov is considered one of the masters of Russian literature and he is noted for his plays as well as his short stories. “Three Sisters” was written in 1900 and premiered in 1901 with Konstantin Stanislavski directing as well as appearing as Lt. Col. Vershinen. The play is certainly a tragic story of a family as the hopes and dreams they cherish fade along with youth. Yet moments of mirth appear occasionally, and brief visions of the natural gaiety… Continue reading
Award Winning Director of The Pollard Presents The Little Mermaid, a Re-Imagined Classic
…..by Adrienne Proctor with Elizabeth Hurd
W. Jerome Stevenson Photo courtesy NewsOK Archives
The Governor’s Arts Awards is one of the prestigious awards given to individuals for their service to the community in arts. For many years W. Jerome Stevenson has been leading the Pollard Theatre with incredible and diverse talent, down to earth practicality and profound integrity. Stevenson has been honored with the Community Service Award this year. Stevenson wears many hats, and the hat tree that can actually hold the number of hats he wears has not yet been designed. He requires an entire coat closet… Continue reading
Blood Relations Brings Chills and Thrills at Carpenter Square Theatre
……..by Adrienne Proctor
Brenna Betz as Lizzie/Bridget (left) and Corrynn Englerth as Lizzie/Actress (right)
Sharon Pollock’s Blood Relations is the mostly true tale of Lizzie Borden and the events leading up to and following the murders of her father and step-mother in Massachusetts in 1892. The play features characters based on actual people and events, as well as fictional characters.
Corrynn Englerth stars as The Actress, a mysterious woman staying with Lizzie, ten years after Lizzie’s acquittal in the infamous murders. Englerth also spends the majority of the show as Lizzie herself, as she is “acting out” the murderous events… Continue reading
“The Mousetrap” Unfortunately Unheard
“The Mousetrap” by the incredible Grande Dame of mystery, Agatha Christie, first opened on the West End in 1952. The show is still being presented! That’s right; “The Mousetrap” is as old as I am! London’s “The Mousetrap” is the longest running show in history. The University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond opened “The Mousetrap” on Thursday, March 29, 2018 and UCO only presents a show for one weekend. That means that UCO’s “The Mousetrap” directed by Daisy Folsom has the shortest run of this play in history! It is a distinct possibility that the show will have… Continue reading