The Ohio University School of Theater will provide a time machine this weekend for those who are looking for a journey back to simpler times.
The department's second show of the season, Holiday, opens tonight with performances through the weekend in Kantner Hall.
Written by Philip Barry, who also wrote A Philadelphia Story, the play's plot details the experiences of an affluent banking family living in New York during the Great Depression, said Heather Petersen, who plays Linda, one of the play's main characters. When the oldest daughter brings her free-spirited boyfriend home for the holidays, the other siblings begin to rethink their own goals and dreams.
Petersen said the old-fashioned nature of the play has been entertaining for the cast and crew.
There's a grace and a poise and a culture that we don't necessarily come in contact with anymore that has been fun for us as actors to explore
said Petersen, a second-year graduate student studying theater. Part of the point of this play is to transport this audience to a world they would not necessarily be privy to.
Holiday director Dennis Delaney said it's important for students to be exposed to the older works of theater.
I'm always surprised to learn how few old movies students have actually seen said Delaney, who is also the head of the Professional Directors Training Program at OU. They need to know these films. They need to know these actors.
Assistant Director Emily Penick, a first year master's of fine arts student studying directing, experienced her first OU play with Holiday. She said that even though the play was written more than 80 years ago, it would still resonate with today's college students.
The characters in the play ... they're really struggling with things that a lot of students are (struggling with) these days Penick said. It's kind of that youthful optimism and idealism and how that butts up against real world expectations for young adults.
Penick said those who enjoy fashion or architecture should see the production, as well as people who have a penchant for old films.
Personally one of the things I love about this production is that it really is a style piece in terms of the elegance of the era
said Penick, who added that fans of Turner Classic Movies would enjoy Holiday. It's beautiful to watch; it's like an old movie.
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Culture
Graylyn Roose
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Linda Seton moves in to kiss Johnny Case, her sister's possible fiance, during a rehearsal of Holiday in the Elizabeth Baker Theater in Kantner Hall Monday. Holiday opens at 8 tonight in the Elizabeth Baker Theater in Kantner Hall.
