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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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Music, theatre departments present operetta
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BY WYATT ASHLOCK
Arts/Entertainment & Opinions Editor
When people hear the word operetta, they may be hesitant or confused. With the goal of showing audiences that an operetta is not intimidating, Ouachita’s theatre and music department are working together to put on “H.M.S. Pinafore.”
This operetta is about a sea captain’s (Cordell Hufstedler) daughter, Josephine (Hannah Gothard and Isabella Owen), who is supposed to marry Sir Joseph Porter (Brennon Humphry) but is in love with a low class sailor (Matthew Mayfield). Josephine will have to decide whether to honor her father’s wishes or follow her heart.
Some of the show is double cast, including the female lead, Josephine, played by Gothard, a senior BFA musical theatre student and Owen, a junior bachelor of music student. While Gothard’s focus is on the musical side of the major, Owen’s focus is on the classical side.
“I love that I’m getting to do the two things that I love the most,” Owen said. “That’s why I chose this degree. I get to do so much music and so much theatre. This is exactly what I wanted to do.”
“H.M.S. Pinafore” is directed by Stephanie Murry, Dr. Joshua Brown and Dr. Kara Claybrook. Murry directs the acting side, while Brown and Claybrook co-direct the music side of this production. All three of them are working closely together to bring this production to life.
“There has been a learning curve for both sides as there are some things about the culture of each department that we are teaching each other as we go,” Murry said. “It’s a great learning experience for both the faculty and students involved because we are learning about another world we don’t have much experience in.”
This is a new experience for everyone involved since this is the first time that the operetta is a part of the theatre department’s lineup.
In a typical year there are four theatre productions and an operetta. However, when Murry and Brown were looking at the lineup, they thought it would be a good idea to combine resources. Instead of having two standard productions, they decided to do one major production in which the cast and audience could experience something new.
“Pinafore sits right in the middle at 50% musical theatre and 50% opera,” Brown said. “It has a level of approachability and it’s palatable.”
This show provides a stand-out combination of a musical and an opera as it is not only comprised of singing. There are acting scenes as well, and this show is completely in English.
With a runtime of a little over two hours, it is a great show for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the opera world but does not have prior knowledge of the genre.
“I hope that [H.M.S. Pinafore] makes the form of operetta a little less scary when they realize how accessible it can be,” Murry said. “I think people will be pleasantly surprised and enjoy it a lot more than they were expecting walking into the performance.”
“H.M.S. Pinafore” runs from Nov. 4-7 in Jones Performing Arts Center. This show will count for both music and theatre arts engagement credit. For more information, visit obu.edu/boxoffice.
BY WILLIAM READ
Guest Writer
It has been six years since the last installment of Daniel Craig’s Bond, and fans have been waiting patiently for his final appearance as the iconic character in his latest film, “No Time to Die.”
Anticipation for this movie was already high as the runtime was announced to be two hours and 45 minutes, making it the longest James Bond movie to date. Expectations continued to rise as the film was delayed from its initial release date of Apr. 2020, to finally being released in Oct. of 2021 in the United States.
There was certainly a lot of buildup, but “No Time to Die” did not disappoint. It weaved together aspects from all of the previous Craig films as well as a few callbacks to the original Bond films.
Without spoiling any important moments in the new film, I advise anyone planning on watching the new film to review the Craig films beforehand.
The supporting roles were both well-cast and well-scripted, but there were quite a bit more characters to keep track of compared to the previous films. Because of this, the roles were more broad and the characters more shallow.
The viewer did not have as much of an opportunity to dig into each character and explore their development as they have in the past. However, the nature of these roles allowed the viewer to focus more on the development of Bond and his conclusion, which is what this movie needed.
This era of Bond films is known for its stunning locations, thrilling chases and overall impressively choreographed action scenes.
The beginning of “No Time to Die” was no different, and certainly delivered an impressive array of action scenes. It also featured Bond’s signature Aston Martin, possibly being the best Bond car scenes in the franchise. Although the first half was engaging and impressive, the second half of the movie seemed to run out of steam in regards to the action.
The scenes were still high caliber, but did not seem completely congruent with the rest of the film. The set pieces did not seem to pay off or excite as much as they did in the earlier half but overall, the action was very well put together and still beats out other films currently in theaters.
This was the satisfying conclusion to the best saga of the Bond franchise which has movies that have already become classics. As always, James Bond will return, but in the meantime I recommend that you rewatch all of the Bond films that star Daniel Craig, and conclude the binge with a viewing of “No Time to Die.”
Arts Engagement Calendar
Music Credit:
Faculty Recital: Cai Lei, Piano and members of the ASO. Oct. 28th at 7:30 PM McBeth Recital Hall Guest Artist Recital: Dr. Robert Fant, Horn Nov. 2nd at 7:30 PM McBeth Recital Hall
Guest Artist Recital: Christopher Adkins, Cello Nov. 9th at 7:30 McBeth Recital Hall
“H.M.S. Pinafore” Nov. 4th-6th at 7:30 Nov. 7th at 2:30 Jones Performing Arts Center
“Sompassauna”, Photograhpy by Dylan Yarbrough Oct. 15th-Nov. 10th Gallery of Moses Provine
