All My Sons: A Retrospective

I really can't believe it's over--after three weeks of intensive rehearsals and work, it all boiled down to three days of performance and suddenly, we're on to Earnest. I think that as a director, I focused so much on fitting as much rehearsal time into a few weeks that the actual performance dates sort of snuck up on me. But, sure enough, thursday, friday and saturday found me seated in the back row, right next to my skilled co-director, Arika, watching as our talented cast and crew made magic on stage.

Or at least, that's what we did half the time. A little secret about directors that I've found is that when we watch our own productions, we aren't always watching the show--rather, we do the best we can to keep our eyes on the stage while focusing our attention on the audience and how they're reacting. And so, night after night, we watched as people laughed, cringed, and cried along with the performances. Afterwards, friends and acquaintences congratulated cast, directors and crew alike for creating such a wonderful show.

But the most touching response came from people who almost none of us even know--the majority of our audience, senior citizens from the town of Northfield. Arika and I watched in disbelief as night after night, we saw older members of our audience in tears by the end of the show. Now, normally, I would feel bad about making old people cry, but this seemed a bit different. After the show, one man explained that he remembers his many friends who were veterans and was touched by how accurately Jared Evans had portrayed the same conflicts he remembered onstage. The more people who talked to us, the more we were made aware of how we had touched people. Making such an impression on an audience with so much more experience with the period the play took place in and the issues it deals with, an audience so much different than what we are all used to in UNCO, is something that we're all proud of.

-Ben

All My Sons

All My Sons

by Arthur Miller

Show Dates: July 5, 6, 7

The year is 1947 and Chris Keller is anticipating his marriage to Ann Deever, the former fiancée of his brother, Larry, who went missing in action during the war. His mother, however, is not willing to concede that her son is dead, and the allegations of war profiteering for which his father was acquitted still loom. Past, present and future intersect and violently clash with one another in this gripping tragedy of a thoroughly American family.

Directed by Ben Egerman and Arika Garg

Cast:

Joe Keller	Hal Edmonson
Kate Keller	Jenny Gibbins
Chris Keller	Jared Evans
Ann Deever	Rachel Teagle
George Deever	Russell O'Connell
Jim Bayliss	Max Herzl-Betz
Sue Bayliss	Emily Ruff
Frank Lubey	Alex Fisher
Lydia Lubey	Karen Borchert
Bert	Noah Schomburg

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance
of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde

Show Dates: July 19, 20, 21

A Trivial Comedy for Serious People: Jack and Algernon, two wealthy young Englishmen, use the same pseudonym, "Ernest", in order to shirk responsibility whenever possible. Their double lives get turned upside down when they both fall in love with women using that name leading to a comedy of mistaken identities, romantic pursuits and meddling relations all the while satirizing the respectability of the English upper class.

Directed by Karen Borchert

Cast:

John Worthing	Russell O'Connell
Algernon Moncrieff	Alex Fisher
Rev. Canon Chasuble	Jared Evans
Merriman	Robert Kennedy
Lane	Ben Egerman
Lady Bracknell	Rachel Teagle
Gwendolyn Fairfax	Bethany Schimmel
Cecily Cardew	Kristen Johnson
Miss Prism	Emily Ruff

Moon Over Buffalo

Moon Over Buffalo
by Ken Ludwig

Show Dates: August 16, 17, 18

A Backstage Farce of Ridiculous Proportions: Broadway could-have-beens George and Charlotte Hay run a small reperatory theater in Buffalo, New York. But when Frank Capra calls to offer them their big break, all hell breaks loose. A high spirited romp of mistaken identity, infidelity, intoxication, pratfalls, and delusions of grandeur.

Directed by Rachel Teagle

Cast:

George	Max Herzl-Betz
Charlotte	Emily Ruff
Roz	Bethany Schimmel
Paul	Ben Egerman
Howard	Joe Knoedler
Ethel	Laura Roberts
Richard	Hal Edmonson
Eileen	Amanda Plump