The collection is a showcase of performances produced by the School of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University. It features an array of documents, images, and media related to show development. The collection highlights the outstanding work done by students, faculty and staff, and offers a record of the rich history of Theatre at Illinois Wesleyan.
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South Pacific
School of Theatre Arts
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific is set in an island paradise during World War II. It tells the tale of two parallel love stories threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war, and how these couples confront their fears for a chance to find happiness. The show features music composed by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.
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The Crucible
School of Theatre Arts
Winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory in response to McCarthyism and the US government’s blacklisting of its citizens accused of being communists. Using the Salem witch trials which occurred in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692 and 1693, the play is a partially fictionalized and dramatized account of some of those events. The piece has become an American classic and a central work in the canon of American drama.
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Fame: The Musical
School of Theatre Arts
Like the film which shares it's title, the musical follows the final class of New York City's celebrated High School for the Performing Arts from their admission in 1980 to their graduation in 1984.
Conceived and developed by David De Silva, with book by Jose Fernandez, lyrics by Jacques Levy, and music by Steve Margoshes. The title song, “Fame” was written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore.
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Giant
School of Theatre Arts
IWU School of Theatre Arts musical production of Giant by Sybille Pearson, music and lyrics by Michael John Lachiusa.
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Hamlet
School of Theatre Arts
An IWU School of Theatre Arts production of Hamlet: A National Tragedy by William Shakespeare.
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The Boys from Syracuse
School of Theatre Arts
Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors is the basis of this mad-capped musical farce. Two sets of twins travel to Ephesus to find their brothers from whom they were separated during a shipwreck. Mistaken identities result in mischief, confusion and hilarity as the situation unravels before the audiences’ eyes.
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Where in the World is Frank Sparrow?
School of Theatre Arts
Originally commissioned by Graffiti Theatre Company in Ireland, this quirky play weaves a stark urban reality with the mythic underworld. This modern, dark "fairy tale" reinvents the hero's journey for the 21st Century and propels its audience through the dangerous streets of "Stab City" and into the dark underworld of change and transformation. The play was performed February 17-22. 2015 at Illinois Wesleyan's McPherson Theatre.
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12 Ophelias (a play with broken songs)
School of Theatre Arts
Written by Caridad Svich, 12 Ophelias offers a modern take on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Set in neo-Elizabethan Appalachia, this whimsical, lyrical play with songs turns the Hamlet story on its ear, in a world where desire swallows girls whole and nothing is ever what it seems.
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A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard
School of Theatre Arts
Written by Sam Shepard, A Lie of the Mind debuted in December of 1985. Like so much of Shepard's work, the play is filled with enormous vitality and humor. The story explores the destinies of two families, linked by marriage but set apart by jealousies and distrust.
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The Drowsy Chaperone
School of Theatre Arts
Written by Bob Martin and Don McKeller, with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone is a rambunctious parody of 1920s and 30s Broadway musicals. The show opens when an ardent musical-theater fan plays his favorite cast album and the musical springs to life in his living room. The fan watches as the musical unfolds before him, telling the tale of a bold Broadway star who tries to find and keep her true love. The Drowsy Chaperone was nominated for thirteen 2006 Tony Awards, winning five including Best Musical.
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A Class Act
School of Theatre Arts
Nominated for five Tony Awards in 2001, A Class Act offers a behind-the-scenes look at how a musical is created and brought to the stage. The musical is based on the real life of composer/lyricist Edward Kleban, Tony award winner for the lyrics to A Chorus Line. While the show was created after his death, Kleban composed the music and lyrics for all the musical numbers.
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As You Like It
School of Theatre Arts
All the world’s a stage in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, a tale of flirtation, friendship and mistaken identity. Filled with clever gender reversals and timely twists of fate, As You Like It takes a lighthearted look at the fickle, yet passionate, nature of love.
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Hay Fever
School of Theatre Arts
“Hay Fever” is a play centered on the lives of David and Judith Bliss and the chaos that ensues when their children invite guests over to stay at their home. What was once meant to be a quiet, peaceful weekend turns into a weekend full of misunderstandings, arguments and drama, all with a comic twist.