BGSU Department of Theatre and Film - Our  90^TH Season

THEATRE EVENTS

Spring 2012

The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman
Directed by Jonathan Chambers

Enraged by his queen’s infidelity, King Shahryar descends into vengeance, first marrying, then bedding, and finally killing a young woman from his kingdom every night for three years. The beautiful Scheherzade is summoned to be the next ill-fated queen. For one thousand and one nights, Scheherzade forestalls her own murder by telling Shahryar humorous and poignant tales of love gone right, lust gone wrong, justice carried, and injustice obviated, always stopping tantalizingly short of their conclusions just before each dawn. With The Arabian Nights, playwright Mary Zimmerman offers a poetic, stylish, and moving adaptation of this timeless tale and, in so doing, celebrates the transformational power of storytelling.   February 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 8 p.m. and February 19, 26 at 2 pm. in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre, Wolfe Center for the Arts

Chicago book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse; music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb based on the play "Chicago" by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Directed by Michael Ellison

The musical Chicago is set in Prohibition-era Chicago of the 1920s with music by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal". The musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name which the author/reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins based on actual criminals and crimes of the day. A “musical vaudeville,” Chicago uses song and dance to tell the story of Roxie Hart, who murders her lover and with the help of lawyer Billy Flynn tries to ”play the system” in order to gain fame (notoriety) and acquittal.  Due to language and subject matter, this production is for mature audiences.   April 12, 13, 14 at 8 p.m. and April 15 at 2 p.m. in the Donnell Theatre, Wolfe Center for the Arts

ELSEWHERE THEATRE

Throughout the year, the Department will host a variety of student productions.  The Elsewhere Theatre  is located at the Wooster Street Center, 1124 East Wooster St., Bowling Green, Ohio.   For more information about these Elsewhere Theatre productions, contact the Department at 419-372-2222.

GISH FILM THEATER and GALLERY

TUESDAYS AT THE GISH 

Screenings for the “Tuesdays at the Gish” film series are free and open to the public.  The series is presented by The Culture Club: Cultural Studies Scholars’ Association and sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Film.

Spring 2012

Next Frame Film Festival
January 31, 7:30 pm

Award-winning student filmmakers (2011), U.S. and International, 120 minutes

Recognized as one of the world’s premiere showcases for student work, the NextFrame Film Festival dedicates itself to connecting filmmakers from all backgrounds and to providing them with a chance to share their vision with audiences. After each year’s finalists are selected, the festival begins a year-long international tour visiting university campuses, museums, media art centers, and independent theaters throughout the U.S. and around the globe. While about fifty percent of the festival entries are domestic, NextFrame receives work from students around the world, including countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Beau Geste
February 7, 7:30 pm

Director: William A. Wellman (1939), U.S., 112 minutes

The three orphaned Geste brothers, Digby, John, and Beau, have been under the care of Lady Brandon and her absent husband, Sir Hector, since childhood. Sir Hector spends the family fortune and plans to literally sell the family jewel: a sapphire called Blue Water. Upon hearing the news, Beau asks to see it one last time. The whole family gathers to see the jewel, but the lights go out. When the lights return the family finds that the sapphire is missing. No one confesses to taking it, but both Beau and Digby leave in the night without saying goodbye. Searching for his brothers, John discovers they have joined the French Foreign Legion and he too enlists. What follows is a tale of best friends, loyalty, and family commitment in the face of trouble. Stars Gary Cooper, Robert Preston, Ray Milland, and Brian Donlevy.

Lying Lips
February 14, 7:30 pm

Director: Oscar Micheaux (1939), U.S., 80 minutes

Oscar Micheaux’s thirty-seventh film, Lying Lips, uses murder and melodrama to explore issues of race, gender, and labor in the United States. When nightclub singer, Elsie, refuses to date the customers at the white-owned club where she works, trouble ensues. Her aunt is murdered and Elsie is framed for the crime. Luckily, Elsie has Benjamin, a detective, as a friend and through his investigation finds a trail of jealousy, family drama, and injustice. Made independently from the Hollywood spectacles of the time, the film features a predominantly African American cast, avoids the racial stereotypes relied upon by mainstream films, provides heavy criticism of predominant American ideologies attached to race, and reinforces the importance of independent production in American film.

Super Fly
February 21, 7:30 pm

Director: Gordon Parks Jr. (1972), U.S., 93 minutes

Priest Youngblood (Ron O’Neal) is a cocaine dealer looking to retire from a life of crime and start anew. Before he can do so, he must make a huge deal, get paid, avoid death and arrest, and maintain his super fly status. Controversial for its supposed glorified representation of cocaine and drug dealing, the film followed the enormous success of Shaft (directed by the director’s father who also helped finance this film) and helped usher in the Blaxploitation movement that firmly placed the stamp on American filmmaking and representation. With the help of a Curtis Mayfield soundtrack, Super Fly provides a fascinating look at life on the streets and in the criminal underworld.

80 Blocks from Tiffany’s
February 28, 7:30 pm

Director: Gary Weis (1979), U.S., 67 minutes

Prior to directing short films for Saturday Night Live and working with former Monty Python members, Gary Weis directed this short but revealing documentary about 1970s gangs in the Bronx. Allowing members of the Savage Skulls and Savage Nomads to share their experiences first-hand, viewers can piece together what life in the Bronx was like. Set against a backdrop of severe poverty, lack of opportunity, and drug abuse, the documentary contextualizes gang life for audiences unfamiliar with this terrain. Released the same year as cult classic The Warriors (Hill, 1979), the documentary takes the play out of gang violence and survival on the decayed and dangerous streets of the New York City borough.

Cineposium
March 13, 7:30 pm

BGSU Department of Theatre and Film Student Work in Recent Film Production Courses

The evening will feature short films and other material created in production courses such as Film I: Cinematography; Film II: Editing, Image, and Sound; Film III: Sync Sound Production; Acting/Directing for Film; and Digital Technology for Film. Screenings of individual and group projects by the Department’s film majors will be accompanied by discussions that include feedback from members of the film faculty as well as question and answer periods between student filmmakers and audience members.

Clockwatchers
March 20, 7:30 pm

Director: Jill Sprecher (1997), U.S., 96 minutes

Being a temp isn’t easy: you don’t know the office politics, the full-time employees find you suspicious, and you might be let go at any time. Iris (Toni Collette), Margaret (Parker Posey), Paula (Lisa Kudrow), and Jane (Alanna Ubach) happen to be stationed in the same office and while they have very different expectations for the job and methods for passing the long hours at work, they end up bonding over their shared position at the bottom. When a series of thefts occur, the temps are assumed to be the culprits and their tenuous relationship in this temporary space ends up cracking under the pressure.

Stepford Wives
March 27, 7:30 pm

Director: Bryan Forbes (1975), U.S., 115 minutes

Something is not quite right in the Connecticut suburb of Stepford. After Joanna, her husband, Walter, and their two children move there, Joanna struggles to adjust to life outside New York City. She befriends some of the more active women in the community and they wonder at the Stepford housewives who may be beautiful, but seem very strange. Slowly, Joanna’s friends who wanted more than just a life in the home become complacent and blithely subservient like the other Stepford wives. A brilliant look at women struggling against culture’s expectations and their function in a patriarchal society - don’t let the recent comedy remake dissuade you from checking out the thrilling horror of the original Stepford Wives.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
April 3, 7:30 pm

Director: W.D. Richter(1984), U.S., 103 minutes

Finishing out the semester and the academic year, Tuesdays at the Gish offers a wacky and adventurous science fiction comedy about saving the world from alien attack. The hero? A physicist, neurosurgeon, and rock musician, who forms a band of fellow scientist musicians known as The Hong Kong Cavaliers to take on the alien invaders. The film is comprised of an amazing cast featuring RoboCop himself, Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum cementing the film’s fantastical nature. The definition of cult classic, come take a trip to absurdity with Dr. Buckaroo Banzai.

TICKET SALES

To purchase tickets, please call the Box Office at 419-372-2719 for current box office hours.

Tickets to theatre productions are:

$12 for adults

$9 students & seniors (55 & over)

There will be a $3.00 surcharge for tickets purchased on the same day as the performance. 

Discounts are also available for group sales (for groups of 10 or more).  To arrange for a group sale, contact James Dachik  at 419-372-0370.

SEATING

Seating for all performances will be reserved/assigned.  If you require ADA accommodations in regard to your seating, please share this information with the Box Office when you purchase your tickets.

LOCATIONS

The Wolfe Center for the Arts is home to the:

•  Donnell Theatre
•  Eva Marie Saint Theatre
•  Wolfe Center Box Office
•  Department of Theatre and Film

and is located at the intersection of Ridge Street and Willard Drive.

The Wooster Street Center is located at 1124 E. Wooster Street (corner of Wooster and Willams Streets). 

The Gish Film Theater is located on the 1st Floor of Hanna Hall.

TIMES

Curtain time is 8 p.m. for evening performances and 2 p.m. for matinees (unless otherwise noted). Please check your tickets to confirm curtain times. Patrons arriving more than five minutes after the curtain rises will not be seated.  Film Screenings begin at 7:30 p.m.

PARKING

After hours (7:30 pm – 7:00 am) and Weekends, a permit is not required to park on campus unless otherwise specified.  Enforcement still remains for reserved spaces, service spaces, fire lanes, handicapped spaces, and loading/unloading zones. For more information contact: http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/parking/.  Those lots adjacent to, or within a short walking distance to the theatres are: 

Wolfe Center Events: at the Jerome Library on Ridge Street or at the lots adjacent to the College of Musical Arts, Moore Musical Arts Center.

Gish Film Theater and the Wooster Center: University Lot A at the intersection of S. College Dr. and E. Wooster St., at WBGU-TV at the intersection of S. College Dr. and Scott Hamilton Ave.  There is also limited parking at the Wooster Center. 

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please share them with us. Call the Box Office at 419-372-2719 or Mr. James Dachik, Theatre Business Operations Manager, at 419-372-0370.