Stage Write

Strains of Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair open a recent production of The Graduate at Marian University Theater. The show, a touring production from the L.A. Theatre Works , is a unique combination of radio theatre and a traditional play. Actors in full costume rotate between standing microphones. There are no scripts, as with some radio performances, instead the actors perform the show in full to the accompaniment of prop zippers and slamming doors. Most people are familiar with the plot from the movie version, but it originated as a novel which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The story is a one most twenty-somethings can identify with. The overwhelming question, "What are you going to do with your life?" that hangs over every college graduation ceremony is the driving force behind our main character's decisions. Benjamin Braddock finds himself at a loss for motivation after graduating and moving back home. His parents' friend Mrs. Robinson ...

The play opens as a tight-knit group of Southern women celebrate the pending nuptials of one of their own. M’Lynn’s daughter Shelby is getting her hair done in Truvy’s beauty salon with only a few hours to go until she ties the knot. The rest of the show follows the women as they meet up at Truvy’s to gossip and gab under hairdryers. Their relationships delve deeper than the surface jokes and when tragedy strikes and they realize there’s no one they would rather turn to than each other for support.   Though “Steel Magnolias” originally started as a play, most people know it best through the 1989 film of the same name. Unlike the movie, the men are wholly absent from the stage version. The only characters are the six very different women who create a relaxed atmosphere so friendly that you could be hanging out with your own group of friends.  Shelby (Emily Lantz) is the youngest of the crew and her passion for life (and the color pink) oozes out of her with every b...

Vonnegut isn't always associated with sweet stories of love and romance. In fact, most people would assume he never wrote anything near those topics, but the Indiana Repertory Theatre's current Mainstage production features three Vonnegut short stories that are perfect for February lovebirds. Who Am I This Time? celebrates one of Indiana's greatest writers with a sublime collection of his stories reworked as a trilogy of love stories set in a sleepy little Indiana town. Janet Allen directs with her deft hand, taking advantage of the talented musicians in the cast to provide songs as interludes between the scenes. The rollicking songs and tender ballads add a great tone to the production. The first piece is a story titled "Long Walk to Forever" which in classic Vonnegut style was originally called "Hell to Get Along With." It's about a soldier who goes home for a brief visit with his old childhood playmate.   The second title piece was my favo...