M A RK HA N COC K
M A R K HA N COC K
LIFE COVER
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s Kathryn McGill
HOW THEY VOTED
Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre’s Don Jordan
Not surprisingly, CityRep’s Donald Jordan picked Evil Dead: The Musical at The Pollard. This Canadian rock musical is based on the cult classic film series. In the same vein, Jordan will take a stab at a touring production of Murder for Two, presented under the auspices of Lyric Theatre. In this musical whodunit, one performer plays a policeman trying to solve a murder case, while another performer plays all the suspects. And they both play pianos. Jordan also likes An Inspector Calls, originally performed in 1945 and written by English dramatist J.B. Priestley. This play has enjoyed many successful revivals in recent years in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It will play at Plaza Theatre as part of Lyric’s continuing, welcome efforts to branch out from just staging big musicals. Speaking of hefty musicals, Jordan named Big Fish, which will be presented
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S HA N N ON CORN M A N
Reduxion Theatre Company’s Tyler Woods
by Lyric next summer. The show is based in part on Tim Burton’s 2003 film of the same name and concerns a traveling salesman and his relationship with his adult son. This musical has had several productions, but the reviews were decidedly mixed when it played Broadway last year. It will be interesting to see something new (to us) and Lyric’s interpretation. Jordan also mentioned Lysistrata, Aristophanes’ comedy about sex and war from 411 B.C., which opens the season Friday at Reduxion, and Wit, the Margaret Edson drama staged by Oklahoma City Theatre Company. Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Wit depicts the last hours of a university English professor who is dying of ovarian cancer. This highly acclaimed play has not been staged in the city area since Carpenter Square Theatre did it in 2002.
SHOW
COMPANY
NUMBER OF VOTES
Company
Pollard Theatre Company
3
Billy Elliott the Musical
Lyric Theatre
2
An Inspector Calls
Lyric Theatre
2
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
CityRep
2
Big Fish
Lyric Theatre
1
Evil Dead: The Musical
CityRep
1
Lysistrata
Reduxion Theatre Company
1
Macbeth
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park
1
The Mountaintop
CityRep/Pollard Theatre Company
1
Murder for Two
Lyric Theatre
1
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Reduxion Theatre Company
1
Wit
Oklahoma City Theatre Company
1
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s (OSP) reticent Kathryn McGill and Tyler Woods of Reduxion both picked another Sondheim classic, Company, which will be staged by Pollard. McGill didn’t have much more to say on the subject, but let’s cut her some slack. She has been busy playing Cleopatra for OSP this summer, and dealing with Mark Antony and those nasty asps would be distractions for anyone. Woods says he’s a fan of Sondheim’s musicals from the 1960s and 1970s (Aren’t we all?), and Company is quintessential Sondheim of the period. This show has received several city-area revivals over the years. Woods also likes An Inspector Calls and Macbeth, an OSP production early in the season at the Water Stage. Macbeth will be played by David Chrzanowsky, who is new to Oklahoma
City. He is a fight instructor (for the stage) and acting teacher at Oklahoma City University. Mandee ChapmanRoach, who did a fine job as Olivia in Twelfth Night this summer, plays Lady Macbeth. It will be directed by D. Lance Marsh. In the new season, local Equity, professional, community and collegiate theater companies will present many shows other than these cited by the five artistic directors. Now that the experts have pointed theatergoers toward the highlights, let the season begin. Let’s hope for some surprises (of the good kind).