With our students back and the semester and production season both in full swing, there are no slow news days around the MTD office. There is buzz about something every day!
Our first theatrical production of the year,
Little Mary Sunshine (LMS), had a great run and was well reviewed. “A talented student cast has given us a delightful production of this most delightful musical,” wrote Robert Delaney in the
Detroit New Monitor. Next up for theatre will be
The Women of Lockerbie which could not be more different from LMS, illustrating the breadth of both our faculty’s interests and our students’ abilities. The drama is based on a true story of women who responded to an act of terrorism with an act of love, and while it deals with extraordinarily sad events, director Karen Sheridan says the play is ultimately very uplifting. Theatre students will run a clothing drive throughout the production period. Winter clothing is perhaps most appropriate, and coats, gloves, hats, and scarves can be dropped off in a laundry bin in the Theatre lobby from October 31 to November 20. Illinois State University came up with the idea for a clothing drive to coincide with their production of
The Women of Lockerbie and Oakland University is proud to continue their work. The donated clothing will be forwarded to Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac.
The male chorus of LMS also appeared in the Student Showcase which was part of our Thursday Arts-After-Work Series. The chorus of rangers had the house rocking with laughter . Every AAW event offers different delights. As the applause faded at the most recent,
Six Strings Too Many, a guitar concert featuring Bret Hoag, Terry Herald, and the guitar ensemble, the person seated next to me commented wistfully, “Perfect.” The series also features fabulous appetizers at 5 pm on the Varner mezzanine for only $9 per person. We thank Chartwell’s for their commitment to making this series a very special campus occasion and we invite you to join us if you have not yet done so. Read more information about
upcoming AAW events here.
The visit of former MTD chair Karl Boelter on October 6 was a very special occasion indeed. Karl is now Director of the School of Music at SUNY Fredonia. He was greeted warmly by many old friends on the faculty and staff, and introduced to those he did not know. There was some surprise about just how many people fell into the last category, which caused discussion about how much the department has grown and developed in the years since Karl left us in 2003. In the intervening years many students have graduated and prospered, and especially impressive are those alums who push to make things happen for themselves and their fellow artists.
We are happy to report that Epicenter Theatre Group, in which many MTD alums are involved, will be performing in the Varner Studio Theatre again this fall. Their double feature event includes the world premiere of Marius Iliescu’s play
The Man Who Lost His Sundays. Marius graduated from OU in 2005 with a BA in dance.
Find more information here.
Many MTD faculty are very active performers, both locally and across the country. Associate Professor Thayer Jonutz’s company, Mise en Place Dance, performed recently in New York as part of the Collaborations in Dance Festival 2011. Read more about
the festival here. And read more about Mise en Place on their Facebook page.
Also heading to New York is the Oakland Chorale, with members planning a spring tour of the city with five concerts scheduled for May. Director Michael Mitchell will lead the Chorale, thirty-eight of MTD’s most accomplished singers. The ensemble is currently fundraising and at their recital November 19 they will hold a silent auction of donated items. The concert will feature works by Mozart, Brahms, Bach, Morales, Thompson, Nunes Garcia, and Cobb. There is also a recital on November 18 and please note both concerts are at an off-campus venue, University Presbyterian Church.
Find a map to the church here. And information about purchasing your
tickets ahead of time here.
And finally, we are sorry once again to have to pass along word of the death of a Detroit area jazzman. Bradley Felt attended OU in the mid-seventies. He was passionate about music, composed, played tuba and euphonium, and became very well known in the Detroit jazz scene. Miles Brown, director of jazz at OU commented, “I knew Brad and played with him on a number of occasions. I very much respected his musicianship, and was planning on asking him to come perform at OU. I'm very sad to hear about his passing.” You can listen to Brad playing his style of
“euphonium in modern jazz” here.
Photo: The cast and crew of Little Mary Sunshine.
