2009-2010 SEASON
GODSPELL
Book by John Michael Tebelak
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Directed by Jim Hesselman
October 30, 2009, 8:00 p.m. (Opening Night)
October 31, 2009, 8:00 p.m.
November 1, 2009, 2:30 p.m.
November 6, 2009, 8:00 p.m.
November 7, 2009, 8:00 p.m.
November 8, 2009, 2:30 p.m.
Robinson Theater
Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center
$12.00 Adults
$6.00 Senior Citizens, Students, IU Southeast faculty & staff
Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak, with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, GODSPELL is one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time.
Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, and featuring a sparkling score by Stephen Schwartz, GODSPELL boasts a string of well-loved songs, led by the international hit, "Day By Day." As the cast performs "Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord," "Learn Your Lessons Well," "All For The Best," "All Good Gifts," "Turn Back, O Man" and "By My Side," the parables of Jesus Christ come humanly and hearteningly to life.
Drawing from various theatrical traditions, such as clowning, pantomime, charades, acrobatics and vaudeville, GODSPELL is a groundbreaking and unique reflection on the life of Jesus, with a message of kindness, tolerance and love.
GODSPELL opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre on May 17, 1971 and was an immediate hit with audiences. Because the Cherry Lane was too small for the crowd, the production moved uptown to the Promenade Theatre where it played 2,124 performances until it moved to Broadway in 1976. GODSPELL then played for an additional 527 performances on Broadway.
"A Hit, A big, big Hit. GODSPELL believes in God—and people—and possibility."
—The New York Post
"GODSPELL turns the theatre into a joyous palace."
—Billboard
"Exhilarating...a rapid fire musical fun house."
—New York Magazine
"It's marvelous...it says love thy neighbor and it means it."
—NBC-TV
THE BOYS NEXT DOOR
By Tom Griffin
Directed by Jim Hesselman
February 19, 2010, 8:00 p.m. (Opening Night)
February 20, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
February 21, 2010, 2:30 p.m.
February 26, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
February 27, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
February 28, 2010, 2:30 p.m.
Robinson Theater
Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center
$12.00 Adults
$6.00 Senior Citizens, Students, IU Southeast faculty & staff
The place is a communal residence in a New England city, where four mentally handicapped men live under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly "burned out" young social worker named Jack. Norman, who works in a doughnut shop and is unable to resist the lure of the sweet pastries, takes great pride in the huge bundle of keys that dangles from his waist; Lucien P. Smith has the mind of a five-year-old but imagines that he is able to read and comprehend the weighty books he lugs about; Arnold, the ringleader of the group, is a hyperactive, compulsive chatterer, who suffers from deep-seated insecurities and a persecution complex; while Barry, a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro. Mingled with scenes from the daily lives of these four, where "little things" sometimes become momentous (and often very funny), are moments of great poignancy when, with touching effectiveness, we are reminded that the handicapped, like the rest of us, want only to love and laugh and find some meaning and purpose in the brief time that they, like their more fortunate brothers, are allotted on this earth.
An Off-Broadway success, this very funny yet very touching play focuses on the lives of four retarded men who live in a communal residence under the watchful eye of a sincere, but increasingly despairing, social worker. Filled with humor, the play is also marked by the compassion and understanding with which it peers into the half-lit world of its handicapped protagonists.
"THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is one of the most unusual…and one of the most rewarding plays in town."
—BackStage
"Griffin's play hits squarely on the truth of life with its constant interplays and shadings of triumphs and tears."
—NY Daily News
"THE BOYS NEXT DOOR moves the audience to an awareness of how many things in everyday life we take for granted…"
—NY Times
VANITIES
By Jack Heifner
Directed by Jim Hesselman
April 15, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
April 16, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
April 18, 2010, 2:30 p.m.
April 23, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
April 24, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
April 25, 2010, 2:30 p.m.
NOTE: There will be no performance on Saturday, April 17
Robinson Theater
Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center
$12.00 Adults
$6.00 Senior Citizens, Students, IU Southeast faculty & staff
A bittersweet comedy that is an astute, snapshot sharp chronicle of the lives of three Texas girls. In 1963, Joanne, Kathy and Mary are aggressively vivacious cheerleaders. Five years later in their college sorority house, they are confronting their futures with nervous jauntiness. In 1974, they reunite briefly in New York. Their lives have diverged their friendship, which once thrived on assumption as well coordinated as sweater sets, is strained and ambiguous. Old time banter rings false. Their attempts at honest conversation only show they can no longer afford to have very much in common.
"Unnervingly funny. . . . Fast moving, sneakily stinging dialogue."
—Newsweek
Uncommonly attractive."
—New York Magazine
TICKETS
Single Tickets
Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for senior citizens, students, and IU Southeast faculty and staff.
To Purchase Tickets
Single tickets are available at the Ogle Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at (502) 361-3100, or online at ticketmaster.com.
Location
All performances are held in the Robinson Theater of the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center on the IU Southeast campus, 4201 Grant Line Road in New Albany.
Directions
View campus maps and get directions to Indiana University Southeast and the Ogle Center.
More Information
For more information on the Theatre Department schedule, IU Southeast Theatre degree programs and scholarship information, contact the IU Southeast Theatre Department at (812) 941-2655, or visit www.ius.edu/theatre.
