BLINN THEATRE ARTS ANNOUNCES FOUR PRODUCTIONS FOR 2019-20 SEASON
The Blinn College-Brenham Campus Theatre Arts Program 2019-20 season will present four productions that bring heroes and villains on stage for a season of thrills and excitement.
“This year promises to be one of the most exciting seasons we have ever presented,” said Brad Nies, Theatre Director. “It will be a year of music, comedy, adventure, suspense, and tears. We are offering something for everyone.”
All four shows will take place at the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, children, and senior citizens. To purchase tickets, visit www.blinn.edu/boxoffice, email boxoffice@blinn.edu, or call 979-830-4024. Groups interested in the preview performances can get more information by calling the Theatre Arts office at 979-830-4269.
The season begins with “The Addams Family,” by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rich Elice, based on characters created by Charles Addams. The play centers around America’s most villainous family, whose 18-year-old daughter, Wednesday, has fallen in love with a nice young man from a respectable family. After she invites him and his parents to their home for dinner, the Addams family must confront the one thing they have avoided for generations – change.
“The Addams Family” will open at 7 p.m. Oct. 17-18 and 2 p.m. Oct. 19-20. The middle school and junior high preview performances will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 17-18.
In November, the Theatre Arts Program will perform Michele L. Vacca’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” The play is based on Howard Pyle’s novel about the titular heroic outlaw who lives in Sherwood Forest with his Merry Men and bestows generosity to the less fortunate. When the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham forces the locals to pay unaffordable taxes, Robin fights against them by stealing from the rich so that he may give to the poor.
The curtain rises for “The Adventures of Robin Hood” at 7 p.m. Nov. 21-22 and 2 p.m. Nov. 23-24. The elementary school preview performances will be at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Nov. 21-22.
In February, Blinn will present William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” adapted by Jim Devenport. The play is about an honored Scottish general who receives prophecy from three witches that he will be crowned as king of Scotland. However, Macbeth and his villainous wife devise a plot to murder the current king and claim the throne. Preoccupied with greed, Lord and Lady Macbeth begin their tragic descents into paranoia and madness.
The play will be presented at 7 p.m. Feb. 20-21 and 2 p.m. Feb. 22-23. The high school preview performances will be at 1 p.m. on Feb. 20-21.
In March, the Theatre Arts Program will present the Blinn College 10-Minute Play Festival, which will include original plays written by local high school students directed and performed by Blinn theatre arts majors. This production will take place at 7 p.m. March 26-27 and 2 p.m. March 28-29.
The final performance of the season will be “Tuesdays with Morrie,” Jeffrey Hatcher, based on Mitch Albom’s book. This moving drama is the autobiographical story of an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career and his former college professor, who is battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The journalist is reunited with his hero, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life.
Show times are 7 p.m. April 30-May 1 and 2 p.m. May 2-3. The high school preview performances will be at 1 p.m. on April 30-May 1.
Blinn’s chapters of Delta Psi Omega and the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology will present Slaphappy at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Tuesday, April 7, in the O’Donnell Center. The improvisation troupe (a cross between Comedy Sportz Houston, William Shakespeare, and Saturday Night Live) will dazzle the audience with its engaging and grounded scene work. Both events are free of charge.
Blinn also will host two 2020 UIL One-Act Play Contests at 1 p.m. April 17-18 at the O’Donnell Center. The top six Region III-AAA and Region IV-A high school one-act plays will gather for two days of outstanding theatre performances that will be judged for advancement to the State UIL One-Act Play Championship in Austin.
Story Courtesy Richard Bray, Blinn Information