BLINN COLLEGE THEATRE PRESENTS “GREATER TUNA”
The Blinn College – Brenham campus theatre season promises to have something for everyone as it takes audiences through character transformations in a Texas comedy, 1800s melodrama, love story, Holocaust drama and the classic Willy Wonka.
The 2014-15 season, “A Year of Transformations,” kicks off Sept. 4 with “Greater Tuna” by Jaston Williams, Ed Howard and Joe Sears, and runs through April with “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Celeste Raspanti. All performances will be held in the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center. Admission is $5 and performances are open to the public. Blinn’s theatre program also reserves morning and afternoon performances for local high school and elementary school students.
Tickets can be purchased and seats selected in advance at www.blinn.edu/BoxOffice, by calling 979-830-4024, or by emailing BoxOffice@blinn.edu.
In “Greater Tuna,” a comedy about the city of Tuna, Texas, the “third smallest” town in the state, Brenham campus Theatre Director Brad Nies and Technical Director Kevin Patrick will play the entire cast of 20 eccentric characters. These upstanding citizens of Tuna, of different ages and genders, embody an array of southern stereotypes and are sure to have the audience rolling with laughter. “Greater Tuna” runs Sept. 4–6 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 7 at 2 p.m.
“It’s a challenge because we have a lot of lines, and each of us has to be 10 different people,” Nies said. “Every character has to have a different look, stance and accent, and we’ve got to transform in just seconds. It’s going to be an exciting way to kick off the season and inspire the students to hit the ground running.”
Blinn will present “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by T. R. Sullivan Oct. 16–18 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. Students will use the first script ever produced to showcase their version of the 1800s melodrama. Just in time for Halloween, students will tell the story of a London lawyer who investigates the transformation of his old friend Dr. Henry Jekyll into the evil Mr. Edward Hyde.
Blinn will close the Fall semester with “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka,” the timeless story of a chocolatier and his quest to find an heir. This new stage adaptation by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald features songs from the classic family film, as well as several new songs. The play is produced as part of Blinn College’s Service Learning project and features the Brenham Children’s Chorus. Performances run Nov. 20–22 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.
The Spring semester will open with “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw. The classic romance tells the story of Professor Henry Higgins, who bets that he can transform a simple flower girl into an upstanding woman of society. He never dreams that while teaching the girl the ways of a lady, she would fall in love with him. “Pygmalion” runs April 9–10 at 7 p.m.
Blinn will close the season with “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Celeste Raspanti, a Holocaust drama that follows a young girl’s experience living in a Jewish ghetto. With the help of her teacher, the girl is encouraged to express her feelings through drawings and poems.
“It’s going to be a great season,” Nies said. “We have a lot of great student performers and we want everyone to come out because we love a full house.”
Blinn’s Theatre Arts Program produces at least eight productions each year in Brenham and Bryan and offers a quality educational foundation through study, application and experience. For more information, visit: www.blinn.edu/finearts/theatre.html. Story and photo courtesy of Blinn College.