HSU Theatre Starts Dynamic 2012-2013 Season

Janlyn ThaxtonFriday, September 21, 2012

 

Rabbit Hole is the first production in the theatre season, marked with plenty of music and a Broadway performer with a one-man show.

Rabbit Hole is the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for drama, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, and was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.

Ronald Dean Nolen, assistant professor of theatre and artistic director, says, “The drama centers on the impact of personal loss and how one family in particular handles the experience with both disarming humor and profound grace.”

Playwright Lindsay-Abaire describes his work as centering around “outsiders in search of clarity,” believing that theatre is a place for absurd things to happen. He uses characters who look at the world differently than everyone else.

The play is directed by HSU adjunct instructor of theatre, Dr. Victoria Spangler. Dates for Rabbit Hole are September 27, 28, 29 and October 4, 5, 6, at 7:30 p.m. with one Sunday matinee, October 7, 2012, at 2 p.m. in Van Ellis Theatre.

Nolen has put together a season of wide variety, marked with a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Shakespearian comedy, classic musical theatre from Broadway’s golden age, and a play featuring country music legend, Broadway actor and former Abilenian, Larry Gatlin.

The season continues with the West Texas premiere of John Logan’s powerful 2010 Tony Award-winning Red which explores the enigmatic life of famed artist Mark Rothko. The play is directed by HSU senior theatre major, Jayci Pruitt, of Eastland, Texas.

Set in the 1950s, Red recalls the cantankerous, curmudgeonly life of Rothko behaving badly as he mentors a student artist. Nolen says anyone who enjoys history, especially art history, and modern art will enjoy this show.

It will be performed in Down Center Stage Theatre in the basement of the Van Ellis-Behrens complex October 25, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m. and October 28 at 2 p.m.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (or What You Will), is the Christmas presentation, taking place just prior to HSU’s fall graduation. The play is believed to have been written around 1601 to mark a time of merrymaking concluding on the 12^th day of Christmas. The play chronicles the riotous disorder expected of the occasion in Shakespeare’s day, with the plot drawn from the short story Of Apollonius and Silla.

The play is directed by Nolen and will be in the Van Ellis Theatre November 29, 30, and December 1, then again on December 6, 7, and 8 at 7:30 p.m.

The spring semester opens with a revival Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly! will be directed by Nolen, with musical direction by Barry Smoot, artistic director of Abilene’s Paramount Theatre. Performance dates are February 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, February 24, 2013, at 2 p.m. in Van Ellis Theatre.

Sure to draw plenty of interest from a broad spectrum of audiences is a new one-man show by one of Abilene’s own Broadway stars. The world premiere of Will the Real Larry Gatlin Please Sit Down stars Broadway actor, country music star, and former Abilenian Larry Gatlin. Also directed by Nolen, the show will be in Behrens Auditorium March 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Nolen says while Gatlin is in residence, HSU students will participate in the development of a new musical written by Gatlin titled Texas Flyer. Their work will culminate in a workshop production of the musical, also directed by Nolen, with current B.F.A. students performing alongside Gatlin. Texas Flyer will be offered as a bonus production in the 2012-13 HSU Theatre season. Performance dates for the workshop production of Texas Flyer are March 20 and 21 at 7:30pm in Van Ellis Theatre

The season ends with DirectFEST 2013, the annual one-act play festival featuring the work of HSU’s young student directors.

Call the HSU Theatre Box Office for more information at (325) 670-1405

Nolen, an HSU graduate, brought his professional theatre background to HSU when he signed on as the artistic director and assistant professor of theatre in the summer of 2010. Fresh from acting in New York City, Nolen brought with him his many theatre contacts from both coasts.

Nolen has guest-starred in numerous television shows, including Law and Order and Crossing Jordan, and co-starred in the original Broadway cast of Mamma Mia! Nolen is also editor of The Film Encyclopedia, and a recipient of the 2006 HSU Outstanding Young Alumni Award. He played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the hit HSU Christmas musical production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Nolen holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University.

2012-2013 Season

RABBIT HOLE
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Victoria Spangler
Van Ellis Theatre
Sept. 27, 28, 29 and Oct. 4, 5, 6 at 7:30pm and Oct. 7 at 2:00pm

RED (Regional Premiere)
by John Logan
Directed by Jayci Pruitt
Down Center Stage
Oct. 25, 26, 27 at 7:30pm and Oct. 28 at 2pm

TWELFTH NIGHT (Or What You Will)
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ronald Dean Nolen
Van Ellis Theatre
Nov. 29, 30 Dec. 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:30pm

DirectFEST 2013
May 2, 3, 4 at 7:30pm
Van Ellis Theatre