Tickets are on sale for Bluffton University’s May Day-weekend production of Jason Robert Brown’s contemporary musical revue, “Songs for a New World.”
Dr. Melissa Friesen, an associate professor and chair of communication and theatre at Bluffton, will direct the show, to be staged May 2-4 in Yoder Recital Hall.
Dr. Crystal Sellers Battle, an assistant professor of music, is music director/conductor. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. nightly; tickets, $13 for adults and $5 for students, are available online athttp://tickets.bluffton.edu or, beginning April 1, from 4 p.m.- 6 p.m. weekdays at the box office in the Sommer Center for Health and Fitness Education.
“Songs for a New World” introduces compelling characters ranging from a fearless young mother to a defiant prisoner to a hysterically disgruntled Mrs. Claus. With no spoken dialogue, the musical uses tightly structured narrative songs to paint vivid portraits of pivotal moments in the characters’ lives.
Comprising the 11-member cast are Perry Andre, a sophomore from Wauseon, Ohio; Amanda Bartel, a first-year student from Iowa City, Iowa; senior Kim Cornelius and junior Neil Macke, both from Ottawa, Ohio; Jared Hudson, a senior from Cincinnati; Rebecca Juliana, a first-year student from Mechanicsburg, Pa.; MaryRose Shotwell, a sophomore from Delta, Ohio; Sam Stucky, a first-year student from Moon Township, Pa.; Ezekiel Tracy, a senior from Continental, Ohio; Joe Wilson, a sophomore from Covington, Ohio; and Rileigh Zickafoose, a sophomore from Lima, Ohio.
Mervin Schrock is technical director for the production, and the costume designer is Paula Unrau. Allison Ringold is the accompanist.
