The Drama Department could not have chosen a more appropriate way to celebrate its 25th anniversary at the College. Fifteen alumni, all well-established in theater, were invited here to work with current students, faculty, staff and a group of outside professionals on this year's Summer Repertory Theater.
Drama Professor and Summer Rep Director Mara Sabinson said the three plays, which look at the political and social upheaval of medieval society, are "all explorations of the subversive power of comedy."
Two of the productions, Noonday Deamons and the Second Shepherd's Play opened last week. Red Noses will open August 11.
Set in a cave in 392 A.D., Noonday Deamons, a contemporary two-person show by British playwright Peter Barnes, centers around two saintly flagellants who battle over who has sacrificed more, whose life is lower and whose god is more godly.
Directed by Dugland MacArthur '52 and performed at the Warner Bentley Theater, Noonday Deamons features Dartmouth alumni David Beach '86 and Melinda Lopez '86, who are prfessional actors.
A review in The Valley News called Noonday Demons a "fantastic exploration of a world of oxymorons: evil saints, proud humility, facile philosophy, and, overridingly, a very funny tragedy."
The Second Shepherd's Play is an early English religious comedy that tells a shepherd's off-beat story of the nativity. The productions, directed by Sonja Kuftinec '88, are presented in period fashion on a traveling wagon. They take place in the Warner Bentley Theater and at various outdoor sites throughout Hanover.
Both Noonday Deamons and the Second Shepherd's Play will run through July 29.
Peter Barnes' madcap Red Noses, which will run at Center Theater, features over 30 characters and is set in France in 1348 A.D. during the Black Plague. Directed by Sabinson, the play follows the adventures of Father Flote and his band of red-nosed clowns, who roam the countryside offering plague victims the chance to die laughing.
For tickets and more information, contact the Hopkins Center Box Office.
