Wit

A brilliant and respected university professor, known for her teaching of the difficult and metaphysical poems of John Donne, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Throughout the course of her experimental treatments, she comes to an understanding of her work, and her life, with profound humor. Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Times called Wit (sometimes written W;t) a “brutally human and beautifully layered new play…you feel both enlightened and, in a strange way, enormously comforted.” Presented in an intimate staging atmosphere, WIT is sure to move you.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1034/thumbnail.jp

Alice in Wonderland

This 1921 adaptation of the classic fantasy tale by Lewis Carroll tells the story of Alice, a little girl who finds adventure when she enters the world located on the other side of the mirror. In this magical world, Alice encounters numerous amazing characters such as the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Gryphon and Mock Turtle, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. After experiencing many exciting, and sometimes harrowing, interactions with these nonsensical creatures, Alice returns safely home to muse on the meaning of life as a huge chess game in which individuals seek self-identity and try to make sense of the world. The gentle message of the story is that while the prospect of approaching adulthood can be scary, it is ultimately a rewarding and exciting adventure.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1019/thumbnail.jp

Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie is the autobiographical story of the friendship of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie\u27s appearance in a televised interview and learns that his former professor is battling Lou Gehrig\u27s disease. When Mitch reconnects with Morrie, what begins as a simple visit develops into a weekly pilgrimage and one last class in the meaning of life. Together with Mitch Albom, acclaimed American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has faithfully adapted the story for performance, capturing all the resonance of the original dialogue and bringing to the stage two of the most genuine and honest characters the theatre has seen in a long time. Described by the New York Daily News as a touching, life-affirming, deeply emotional drama with a generous dose of humor ... and by The New York Times as making the language of the book crisper, cleverer, and more palatable ..., the play will end the Cedarville University season with a warm and thought-provoking commentary on the gift of everyday life.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1015/thumbnail.jp

Baskerville: A Sherlock Homes Mystery

This “mystery with a twist” was called “comedy gold … the perfect mix of slapstick and thrills” by TheaterMania and “ingeniously funny” by Broadway World. Sherlock Holmes and his trusted assistant Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Watch as the intrepid investigators navigate a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit as five actors portray more than 40 characters.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1042/thumbnail.jp

Fools

Fools, by Neil Simon, is the comic tale of Leon, an enthusiastic young schoolteacher who seeks to cure the Ukrainian village of Kulyenchikov from the curse of chronic stupidity from which they have been suffering for 200 years. Taking place “a long time ago,” the story becomes complicated when Leon meets the lovely Sophia, so stupid that she only learned to sit down a week ago. She presents quite the challenge for Leon’s goal of freeing the town from stupidity, but he is motivated by her charm. Her longtime suitor, Count Gregor, whose ancestors placed the curse on the town in the first place, is a rival for Sophia’s attentions. No one has told Leon that if he fails to cure the town of stupidity in 24 hours, the curse will make him stupid as well.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1040/thumbnail.jp

The 39 Steps

Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece bursts onto the stage as a fast-paced, riproaring farce that will keep you guessing to the last moment! Winner of two Tony Awards, The 39 Steps is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (brilliantly played by four actors), an on-stage plane crash, and tomfoolery. And through all the daring action comes unexpected romance, as a man and woman discover the beating of their own hearts.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1028/thumbnail.jp

Over the River and Through the Woods

Twenty-eight year old Nick, an Italian single guy from New Jersey, gets the professional career offer of a lifetime … on the opposite coast from his family. Nick’s traditional Italian grandparents, Frank and Aida and Nunzio and Emma, do their level best to keep their beloved grandson home with them on the East Coast, while a job as a marketing executive calls him to Seattle. Will Nick abandon family to pursue a glamorous and exciting career move, the opportunity he has hoped for? His grandparents wonder if he would stay in New Jersey if he fell in love with a hometown girl. And so the lovely — and single — Caitlin O’Hare is brought in as bait. But will their scheme work? This comedy by contemporary playwright Joe DiPietro is sure to resonate with audience members from university students (soon to face the same career decisions themselves) to extended family members (who have either wrestled with these same choices themselves or have struggled to release those they love to pursue their own dreams). Themes of family, professional goals, tradition, and romance are all presented in a way that reminds us to celebrate the everyday gifts of our lives.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1008/thumbnail.jp

Tartuffe, or the Imposter

Molière mixes morals, manners, and mischief in this, his laughter-filled farce. Orgon is duped by Tartuffe, a religious imposter, but finally through several hilarious situations, Orgon is made to see Tartuffe as the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that he is. Without a doubt, this is considered Molière’s masterpiece!https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1010/thumbnail.jp

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]

The Complete Works takes us through all of Shakespeare’s Histories, Comedies and Tragedies in one hilarious show! It’s a fast-paced romp through the Bard’s well known plays. Join three actors, lots of wigs, crazy props, bona fide costumes, and iambic pentameter all rolled into this Shakespearean adventure you won’t soon forget. It’s time to get up close and personal with this in-your-face merriment staged in our black-box performance venue.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1037/thumbnail.jp

The Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank tells the story of a young Jewish girl and her family during the German World War II occupation of the Netherlands. The play explores themes of persecution, coming of age during wartime, and Jewish identity in a world turned upside down by hatred. Anne’s unique perspective, recorded in her personal diary discovered after the war had ended, attests to her hope for all people to someday live without fear. The New York Daily News described the play as having “so much beauty, warm humor, gentle pity … that it is difficult to imagine how this play could be contained in one set on one stage … this is a fine drama.”https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/theatre_productions/1038/thumbnail.jp