Oakland University - News Archive - Oakland University theatre season offers high drama, historic experiences

	The Oakland University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance 2010-2011 theatre season will showcase a classic Stephen Sondheim musical, a searing Arthur Miller drama, the resonating melodies of Jule Styne and an ancient form of theatre that will involve students and faculty from all three disciplines. Musical theatre program director Fred Love will be at the helm of “Company,” which opens October 7, 2010 on the Varner Studio Theatre stage. This Stephen Sondheim musical shares the humor and pitfalls of relationships in the lives of five married, once married or soon-to-be married couples, as viewed by their bachelor friend, Bobby. Musical director is Alyssa Hetzner. Arthur Miller’s haunting relationship memoir, “After the Fall,” opens November 11, 2010, under the direction of Michael Gillespie. The play analyzes the author’s relationships with several women, his parents and colleagues, and deals emotionally with issues of betrayal, guilt, redemption and the death of love. The story is set during the period of the anti-communist witch-hunt conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy. From the depths of human despair, the season swings to the heights of musical romance, with “Bells are Ringing,” directed by Karen Sheridan. The Susanphone answering service provides the backdrop for this delightful and uplifting production, in which the lines blur between a switchboard operator’s job and her penchant for eavesdropping. With book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne, the score includes the classic songs, “Just in Time” and “The Party’s Over.” In April, May and June, the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will present a Pageant Play, featuring shows on and off campus. Details are still being finalized for this broad ranging project, which will include a series of performances in various styles that dramatize stories from the Old and New Testaments. Patterned after an ancient form of communal expression, this celebration of performing arts will involve wide participation by students and faculty. More information about the 2010-2011 Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will be published in the Season Brochure mailed this summer, and on the Department’s Web site, oakland.edu/mtd To receive a copy of the brochure, write to mtd@oakland.edu or call 248-370-2030.
Fred Love

Michael Gillespie

Karen Sheridan

The Oakland University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance 2010-2011 theatre season will showcase a classic Stephen Sondheim musical, a searing Arthur Miller drama, the resonating melodies of Jule Styne and an ancient form of theatre that will involve students and faculty from all three disciplines.

Musical theatre program director Fred Love will be at the helm of “Company,” which opens October 7, 2010 on the Varner Studio Theatre stage. This Stephen Sondheim musical shares the humor and pitfalls of relationships in the lives of five married, once married or soon-to-be married couples, as viewed by their bachelor friend, Bobby. Musical director is Alyssa Hetzner.

Arthur Miller’s haunting relationship memoir, “After the Fall,” opens November 11, 2010, under the direction of Michael Gillespie. The play analyzes the author’s relationships with several women, his parents and colleagues, and deals emotionally with issues of betrayal, guilt, redemption and the death of love. The story is set during the period of the anti-communist witch-hunt conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

From the depths of human despair, the season swings to the heights of musical romance, with “Bells are Ringing,” directed by Karen Sheridan. The Susanphone answering service provides the backdrop for this delightful and uplifting production, in which the lines blur between a switchboard operator’s job and her penchant for eavesdropping. With book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne, the score includes the classic songs, “Just in Time” and “The Party’s Over.”

In April, May and June, the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will present a Pageant Play, featuring shows on and off campus. Details are still being finalized for this broad ranging project, which will include a series of performances in various styles that dramatize stories from the Old and New Testaments. Patterned after an ancient form of communal expression, this celebration of performing arts will involve wide participation by students and faculty.

More information about the 2010-2011 Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will be published in the Season Brochure mailed this summer, and on the Department’s Web site, oakland.edu/mtd To receive a copy of the brochure, write to mtd@oakland.edu or call 248-370-2030.