Oberlin Summer Theater Festival Begins Ninth Season June 16

The Oberlin Summer Theater Festival (OSTF) opens its ninth season June 16 with a production of The Miracle Worker.

OSTF is an ensemble of professional Equity actors, local players, and recent Oberlin College alumni and current students. The festival remains committed to is mission that live professional theater should be available to everyone in the Lorain County and greater northeastern Ohio community, regardless of age or socio-economic background. For this reason, admission to its mainstage productions is always free.

OSTF presents three family oriented productions in rotating repertory. All performances take place in Oberlin’s Hall Auditorium. To accommodate families with younger members, evening performances begin at 7 p.m. The season offers 2 p.m. matinees on most Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, giving out-of-town patrons the opportunity to see two shows in the same day.

In addition to The Miracle Worker, based on the biography of Helen Keller, this season’s lineup includes Neil Simon’s romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park and William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

William Gibson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Miracle Worker follows Annie Sullivan, a once-blind girl from an impoverished background who—as Helen’s governess and teacher— tames the young Helen Keller, who is deaf, blind, mute, and completely out-of-control. The show is geared toward youths age 6 and older and runs June 16 through July 30.

Set in a quirky walk-up apartment in Manhattan in the early 1960s, Barefoot in the Park follows newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter during the contentious first days of their marriage as they learn how to live together. The show is appropriate for ages 10 and older and runs June 30 through July 28.

No OSTF season would be complete without a Shakespeare production. The Winter’s Tale begins as a psychological drama, following the paranoid jealousy and unjust actions of King Leontes against his wife, Hermione, and best friend, Polixenes. But midway, the play jumps time, place, and genre to become a hilarious pastoral comedy centered on the secret romance of their children, which ultimately brings the two plots full circle to a magical and moving ending. Appropriate for ages 10 and older, the show runs July 14 through July 29.

Once again, the festival is offering the Acting Shakespeare Intensive for area high school students. Camp activities will focus on performance skills—including the basics of truthful acting, handling Shakespearean text, voice, and movement—culminating in a scene study.

Oberlin Summer Theater Festival is made possible through generous support from Oberlin College and Conservatory, the City of Oberlin and Oberlin Business Partnership, the Ohio Arts Council, the Nord Family Foundation, Nordson Corporation Foundation, and audience members.

Showtimes and dates are posted on the OSTF website. Tickets can be reserved by calling (440) 775-8169 or emailing ostf@oberlin.edu.