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OBU Theatre Invites Audiences to be ‘Awakened by a Dream’ for 2018-19 Season

August 30, 2018

The Oklahoma Baptist University Theatre department invites audiences to be “Awakened by a Dream” during its 2018-19 season. Productions include the New Works Festival along with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Three Sisters.”

The New Works Festival will kick off the season Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Sarkeys Black Box Theatre on OBU’s campus in Shawnee. The event will feature an evening of short plays written and directed by OBU students. These plays are presented in “workshop” format, with attention placed on the audience hearing the written word rather than upon viewing spectacle. Tickets are free for season ticket holders, $5 for adults and $3 for students, and may be purchased at the door.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare will hit the stage Nov. 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 4 and 11 at 2:30 p.m. These productions will take place in OBU’s Craig-Dorland Theatre inside Shawnee Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. This production is most appreciated by audiences 13 and up.

With a royal wedding near, four lovers escape the decorum of the aristocratic courts, eluding tradition and etiquette on one fateful, exhilarating night in the woods. There they become pawns in the impassioned battle between Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the supernatural fairies who are led by Puck, a mischievous sprite. Enter an enchanted world of dreams where fairies fly, a donkey bursts into song and love potions can change hearts. What ensues is magic, dance, fickle infatuation, shape-shifting and madcap antics which provide a magical, and often humorous, exploration of romance, love and marriage. Shakespeare’s raucous humor and wondrous dialogue make it easy to see why “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has remained an audience favorite for more than four hundred years.

The spring semester will kick off with “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” adapted by Simon Reade. Based on the novel, Lewis Carroll's classic characters spring to life in an enchanting show for the whole family, bursting with music, madness and mystery. Productions will take place Feb.15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. in Craig-Dorland Theatre. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students and $2 for children 12 and under.

The 2017-18 season will close with “Three Sisters,” written by Anton Chekhov and translated by Laurence Senelick. “Three Sisters” is a subtle but powerful story of close-knit siblings who, having fallen from their place in the upper class, must reassess their dreams and aspirations in the face of a rapidly changing social order. Productions will take place April 25, 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. and April 28 at 2:30 p.m. This production is most appreciated by audiences 13 and up. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students.

In this stunning new translation of one of Chekhov’s most popular and beloved plays, Laurence Senelick presents a fresh perspective on the master playwright and his groundbreaking dramas. He brings this timeless trial of art and love to life as memorable characters have clashing desires and lose balance in the shifting eruptions of society and a modernizing Russia.

Season tickets are available now for $30 for adults and $12 for students. Call (405) 585-4350 to purchase. Tickets for individual shows go on sale Sept. 15, online at www.okbu.edu/fine-arts/theatre or may be purchased beginning two weeks before each performance at Sarkeys Telecommunication Center on OBU’s campus or by calling (405) 585-4350 for more information.