THEATER SEASON OFFERS COMEDY, SATIRE, DRAMA, MUSIC

The Central Wyoming College Theater Department’s 2012-13 season has something for everyone from political satire to classic comedy, and Irish drama to a rock musical. And when you add in the avant-garde of student-directed theater pieces and experimental shows with a new feature of the season, the season could be truly terrifying.

 First off is the 24-hour marathon production of 4 (or more) in 24: the Political Edition set for Saturday, Sept. 22.  In the 24 hours before the 7:30 p.m. curtain, multiple casts rehearse at least four original, short productions and then immediately perform them. The directing, designing and rehearsals all come together in just one day.

 “We’re doing it again,” CWC Theater Director Mike Myers said of the innovative theater that was done for the first time at Central in 2011. “This time, all the pieces will have American politics as their theme.” Expect the “birth of exciting new theater” and a “clash of ideas,” he said.

 Theater students join with the CWC Student Activities staff to present a Halloween Trail of Terror, Oct. 26 and 27, inviting “those who dare” for a guided tour of campus where goblins, specters, wraiths and ghouls haunt the grounds. Myers promises “scary fun for the whole family.” The event is free but donations will go to Breast Cancer Awareness groups.

 Neil Simon’s classic comedy The Odd Couple is staged Oct. 17-21. The male dominated cast will deliver laughs as they take you into the apartment shared by Felix, a tense neat freak, and Oscar, the easy going slob. Myers said this is the “greatest comedy by America’s greatest comic playwright.” The show runs each night at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of Oct. 21 which is a  2:30 p.m. matinee.

 With the gals mostly left out of The Odd Couple, Myers purposely selected The Magdalen Whitewash for the last fall show. “Our production will mark just the third time this intense new drama from Ireland has been seen in the U.S.,” he said. Scheduled for a run beginning with a Dec. 2 matinee and followed by 7:30 p.m. performances Dec. 6-8, the Valerie Goodwin play is about eight women who are sentenced to hard labor and harsh treatment at the Magdalen Asylum for getting pregnant out of wedlock. Set in the 1920s, the story is about the Irish “Maggies” and their struggle for human dignity and freedom.

 In the spring, the student-directed set of short theater pieces, Showcase 2013, is scheduled Feb. 7-10, taking the usual time of the spring musical. The CWC theater department has been presenting the Showcase for nine years, providing CWC audiences with some “cutting-edge” theater experiences.

 The season finale is the rock musical Hair scheduled for April 12-14 and April 19-21. “It’s entertaining, engaging, powerful, memorable, and important and it’s art,” said Myers. Hair was controversial when it opened in 1967 as an anthem to the spirit of the 1960s. Some of the great hits from the play are Aquarius and Good Morning Starshine.

 The Theater Department is selling season tickets (adult single: $25, youth/senior: $10) for admission into The Odd Couple, The Magdalen Whitewash, and Hair. The Showcase and the Trail of Terror are free and admission for 4 (or more) in 24 is $5.