Emporia State University Theatre is preparing for its new season of plays and musicals. The season features three shows adapted from popular novels and a classic of the 20th-century theatre.
The season begins with the Homecoming scholarship musical, “Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Propelled by an award winning score from Roger Miller, Mark Twain’s timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures bring to life favorite characters from the novel including the Widow Douglas; the uproarious King and Duke; Huck’s pal, Tom Sawyer, and their rowdy gang; Huck’s drunken father, the sinister Pap Finn; the lovely Mary Jane Wilkes and her trusting family. Under the direction of Jim and Lindy Bartruff, Big River will run in The Karl C. Bruder Theatre in King Hall, Oct. 13 through 16.
“The 39 Steps” is the second production of the season. It was adapted from a novel of the same name by John Buchan, but is perhaps best known as the film by Alfred Hitchcock. Adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow and under the direction of Theresa Mitchell, “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! Over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance! A man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt. “The 39 Steps” runs from Nov. 30 through Dec. 3 in the Bruder Theatre.
The spring semester begins with a classic of the 20th-century theatre, “Six Characters in Search of an Author” by Luigi Pirandello. When first produced in 1921, the play left its original audience baffled. But since, the play has become a regular on stages throughout the world. In the play, six fictional characters, abandoned by their creator, invade a rehearsal in progress and demand to be brought to life by a new author. But the characters’ agenda collides with the more lighthearted ambitions of these theatre artists, whose open rehearsal “audience engagement event” becomes darkly entangled with the characters’ tragic story — all the while asking the audience to consider just what is real. Under the direction of senior theatre major Nathan Dale Short, “Six Characters in Search of an Author” will be presented March 1 through 4 in the Karl C. Bruder Theatre.
Bursting with humor and emotion, “Sense and Sensibility” asks: when reputation is everything, how do you follow your heart? ESU Theatre will present the regional premiere of the work under the direction of Dan Matisa, April 25 through 29 in the Ronald Q. Frederickson Theatre in Roosevelt Hall.
Actress Kate Hamill has adapted Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” where it continues to run in a much-celebrated off-Broadway production. You’ve never seen Austen like this! Called the “greatest stage adaptation of this novel,” this new adaptation follows the adventures (and misadventures) of the Dashwood sisters — sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne — after their sudden loss of fortune. During the rehearsals in Emporia, the playwright will travel to Emporia to be a part of the play’s preparation and to visit with local theatre-goers.
For tickets and additional information, call the university ticket office at 620-341-6378.