Great literature will come to life in the premiere of “The Good, the Bad, and the Wilde,” a production that opens the 2005/2006 season at University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre.
Opening night performance is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in Russell Hall on the USM Gorham campus. Other performances are Oct. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 2, 5 and 9 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 for the general public; $8 for seniors; and $5 for students. Call the Theatre Box Office at 780-5151.
Conceived and directed by Walter Stump, professor of theater at USM, this new two-act play combines well-known stories and poems by American and British writers that illustrate the mostly good side, yet some of the bad side, of human nature.
A cast of eight performers will narrate the stories in an active way, moving through the many scenes and multiple characters with small costume and location changes. The cast includes Sarah Malmude of Gorham, Michele Lee of Bridgton, Sara Johnson-Berz of Limestone, Joelle Clingerman of Orono, Erik Moody of Saco, Andrew Coffey of Wolfsboro, NH, Timothy Sheridan of Windham and Shawn Reardon of Millinocket.
Works by famous authors include Bret Harte’s short story set in a mining camp, “The Luck of Roaring Camp;” poems by Robert Service – “The Cremation of Sam McGee” – and the humorous Ogden Nash; O’Henry’s poem “The Last Leaf,” and his funny story about a little brat who is stolen by crooks, “The Ransom of Red Chief”; and the sad-but-uplifting fairy tale, “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde. Two other pieces are by local authors: selections from Stump’s original play set in the Southwest, “Anasaze,” and a short story by Susan Farrar of Standish.
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