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2004-2005 PERFORMANCES IN HALL AUDITORIUM

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The Marriage of Figaro, The Piano Lesson, and More are Included in Oberlin College's 2004-2005 Season of Theater, Dance and Opera Performances in Hall Auditorium

OBERLIN, OH—Performing arts lovers save $5-17 compared to single ticket prices when purchasing the six-event, discount subscription ticket package for the Oberlin College Theater, Dance and Opera season of performances in Hall Auditorium. The six-event package—$50 for the public; $34 for senior citizens, educators, and OCID; and $21 for all students/children—is available through the Oberlin College Central Ticket Service box office by calling 440-775-8169.

The six-event season includes: three outstanding theater pieces, The Piano Lesson, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Top Girls; the Oberlin Dance Company—an evening of faculty-choreographed dance; and two comic operas, Orpheus in the Underworld and The Marriage of Figaro. All six events will take place in Oberlin College's Hall Auditorium with 8 pm performances on Friday and Saturday, and 2 pm matinees on Sunday. Hall Auditorium is located on Rt. 58 in Oberlin across from Tappan Square, between the Allen Memorial Art Museum and the Oberlin Inn. Hall Auditorium is wheelchair accessible. There is plenty of free parking and a wide range of restaurants (in all price ranges), shops and galleries within easy walking distance.

Fall 2004 — Two Shows
The Theater, Dance, and Opera series begins on Friday,October 8 with The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. Set in Pittsburgh in 1937, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama explores how one family moves forward beyond the legacy of slavery. An ornately carved piano, a hard-won heirloom, gathers dust in Berniece's parlor. Her brother, Boy Willie, dreams of buying the same Mississippi land that their family had worked as slaves—and reveals his plan to sell the antique piano. Berniece refuses, clinging to the reminder of their history of pride and pain. This dilemma is the real "piano lesson" that is played out in the world of the living and the dead. Caroline Jackson Smith, associate professor of theater and African American Studies, will direct The Piano Lesson. The performances are at 8 pm, Friday and Saturday, October 8 and 9, with a 2 pm matinee on Sunday, October 10. The seating is general admission.

The fall season continues on November17 with the Oberlin Opera Theater's production of Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach. With witty dialogue and an extravagant score, Orpheus in the Underworld creates a riotous twist on classical mythology. Orpheus can't stand his wife Eurydice, and is delighted when she is carted off to the Underworld. At the demand of Public Opinion (in the guise of a mezzo-soprano), he embarks on a journey to bring her back—and sees some rather ungodly behavior on the way! Orpheus will be sung in English with supertitles and will be conducted by Steven Smith, assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, and directed by Jonathon Field, associate professor of opera theater. Performances are at 8 pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, November 17, 19 and 20, with a 2 pm matinee on Sunday, November 21. The s eating is reserved.

Spring 2005 — Four Shows
The four-event spring 2005 season begins February 11, with Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa. This moving Tony Award-winning play is about five unmarried sisters, one with a young son, eking out their lives together in an Irish village in l936 during the Festival of Lughnasa—which celebrates the pagan god of the harvest with drunken revelry and dancing. Their sparse existence is interrupted by brief, colorful bursts from the radio, their only link to the romance and hope of the world. This extraordinary account of the human spirit unfolds through the memories of the illegitimate son as he recalls the women who raised him and the events that unravel and destroy the foundation of their home. Matthew Wright, associate professor of theater, will direct Dancing at Lughnasa. Performances are at 8 pm, Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12, with a 2 pm matinee on Sunday, February 13. The seating is general admission.

On March 16, the Oberlin Opera Theater opens The Marriage of Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Susanna loves Figaro. Figaro loves Susanna. The Count loves Susanna. The Countess loves the Count. Cherubino loves the Countess. Mix together a few disguises; plenty of humor, and some of the best music ever written for the stage and you have The Marriage of Figaro! Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the opera will feature a guest conductor to be announced, and Field will direct. Performances are at 8 pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, March 16, 18, and 19, with a 2 pm matinee on Sunday, March 20. The s eating is reserved.

The season's final theater performance will be Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, with Claudia Zelevansky, guest director. Things are not always what they seem in this feminist journey into class, gender, and politics. Set in England during the height of Thatcherism, an ensemble cast of women portrays 16 different characters, all of them struggling to find their place—at work, at home, and in history. The play moves back and forth in time (including a remarkable dinner party attended by women from wildly different eras), and the unexpected reverberations propel Top Girls to its chilling conclusion. Performances of Top Girls are at 8 pm Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, with a 2 pm matinee on Sunday, April 24. The s eating is general admission.

The Oberlin Dance Company performances close the 2004-2005 season of Theater, Dance, and Opera. ODC '05 performances will be at 8 pm Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7. This dance concert features the choreography of faculty members Carter McAdams, professor of dance, and Adenike Sharpley, artist-in-residence for African dance. In McAdams' Particulate Waves, the rising and falling rhythms of the string quartet propel nine student dancers and their exploration of dance as motion and shape. Sharpley uses the well-known protest song Strange Fruit as sung by Billie Holiday, to create an expression of courage and hope that is born out of the horror of lynching. Additional works to be announced. The s eating is general admission.

The Central Ticket Service at Oberlin College
Subscriptions, single tickets, group tickets and gift certificates are available through the college's Central Ticket Service (CTS) by calling (440) 775-8169, and at the CTS box office in Hall Auditorium from noon to 5 pm, Mondays through Fridays during the academic year.

How to Subscribe to All Six Events
Subscriptions to the six-event season are $50 for the public; $34 for senior citizens, educators, and OCID; and $21 for all students/children. Seating in Hall Auditorium is reserved for operas and general admission for theater and dance. Hall Auditorium is wheelchair accessible, hearing enhancement system available on request. Subscription orders are filled according to date of receipt. Subscribers receive ticket discounts, priority seating, free exchange privileges, and special discounts at the Oberlin Inn throughout the season.

Single Tickets Are Available
Advance, single tickets to the theater, dance and opera performances are priced from $6 to $12 per seat for non-students, and all single tickets are an additional $3 more when purchased at the door. Single tickets for The Piano Lesson, Dancing at Lughnasa, Top Girls, and Oberlin Dance Company are available for $8 Public; $6 Senior Citizens/Educators/OCID; and $4 Students/Children. The single ticket for the operas Orpheus in the Underworld and The Marriage of Figaro are $12 public; $8 senior citizens, educators, and OCID; and $5 students/children.

Group Discounts
Groups receive one free ticket for every 10 purchased. Groups of 10-25 receive a discount of 15% off the single ticket price, and groups of 26 or more receive 25% off the single ticket price. Call the Central Ticket Service at (440) 775-8169 for group reservations.