Performances in the main series of the Performing Arts and Concert Series for the 2018-19 academic year have been announced, with the first event to be held Sept. 24.
Many well-know artists and groups will perform, such as Jay Mohr, an actor and stand-up comedian, and Daniel Martin, an award-winning magician. Several shows will be available that will cater to the theater-loving audience, such as “ELF The Musical,” “The Sound of Music” and L.A. Theatre Works’ “Steel Magnolias.”
Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of student activities, is in charge of putting together the series and has been working on the Performing Arts and Concert Series since last summer. He is most excited about seeing Cristina Pato, an internationally acclaimed bagpipe performer, and RENT, which will be performed by a nationally-touring broadway company. Holzaepfel said the big-name artists will perform for students for a favorable ticket price.
“Between the Performing Arts and Concert Series, College of Fine Arts and the local arts, there is a well of arts in Athens for students,” Holzaepfel said.
Ethan Lowe, a junior studying production design and technology, is particularly excited to see the production of the musical “Finding Neverland.”
“I have always liked Peter Pan, but I like it because obviously I am a huge theater person,” Lowe said. “I am always down to see a performance.”
Lowe believes theater is always considered as a secondary form of entertainment by other people, but he hopes to see attendance at the shows with the type of productions that are coming to Athens this year.
Lowe understands the amount of work put into theater productions and thinks that OU is doing the best it can with the amount of resources it has.
“Theater, right now, is more so only super-in if it’s in the very popular broadway musicals,” Lowe said.
Alyssa Embry, a sophomore studying production design and technology, likes to have anything that promotes or supports the art behind theater. She is also especially excited to attend the performance of “Finding Neverland,” as she has heard a lot about it and “always loved Peter Pan while growing up.”
“I think it is really cool how we have a lot of bigger named people and productions coming through,” Embry said. “A lot of people don’t necessarily put focus on the arts, so the fact that we have multiple productions and groups coming through is really exciting and cool.”
