PRESS RELEASE -- November 1-2 and 10, 2007
MVNU brings Columbus’ Thurber to life on stage
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene University is pleased to present its fall play, “The Jabberwock: Improbabilities lived and imagined by James Thurber in the fictional city of Columbus, Ohio.”
There will be four shows: Thursday and Friday, Nov. 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 10, at 2 and 8 p.m. All performances will be held in Thorne Performance Hall, located within the R.R. Hodges Chapel/Auditorium on the MVNU campus.
Thurber and The Jabberwock
"Jabberwock," is a humorous and poignant, semi-biographical account of author/cartoonist/playwright James Thurber, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and attended The Ohio State University. Written in 1973, the play is set in World War I and highlights Thurber’s adolescence. Living with a theatrical mother and confused grandfather who’s still stuck in the Civil War, Thurber finds inspiration for his future creativity. He recognizes the rest of the community as the “jabberwocks” they are and discovers courage to break out of the mold after a little push from a girl “kissing an ice cream cone.”
"The play forces students to go beyond their comfort zones by creating bigger, more colorful characters, including an alcoholic maid and the doomsayer of the world," explained Dr. Dan Behr, play director and professor of communication. "The show also requires a more intricate set than other productions as the entire Thurber house needs to be visible on stage."
The Cast
With more than 20 cast members and a talented technical crew, “Jabberwock” features MVNU students of all ages and majors. Main characters are Jamie Thurber (Jordan Rogers from Mount Vernon), Mary Agnes Thurber (Jamie Schmelzenbach from Marietta), Charley Thurber (Brian Church from Georgetown), Roy Thurber (Isaac Martin from Edison), Herman Thuber (Dustin Strickling from Westerville), Grandpa (Chris Johnson from Vermillion), Georgianna Littlefield (Elizabeth Miller from Columbus) and Doc Marlowe (Adam Behr from Howard).
The Authors
Though each wrote independently, “Jabberwock” authors and Columbus natives Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee are best noted for their collaborative playwriting. Among their many long running and widely produced plays are Inherit the Wind, First Monday in October, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, and Auntie Mame. In addition to dozens of plays, the partnership produced books for musicals, screenplays, radio and television scripts, biographies and textbooks, and many stories and articles for a variety of publications, nationally and internationally. They have received the Peabody Award, separately; the Donaldson Award; the Outer Critics' Circle Award; and the London Critics' Award for Best Foreign Play for Inherit the Wind, jointly. Their contributions to American literature, to the craft of playwriting and to the promotion of American professional and academic theatre are significant.
Tickets
Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $4 for students and $3 for children 12 and under. Call (740) 392-6868, ext. 1620, to reserve tickets, or purchase them at the door.
About MVNU
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. U.S. News & World Report ranks MVNU in the top 50 Best in the Midwest (Bachelor’s-Comprehensive) institutions for the third year in a row. With a 400-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and nine satellite Adult and Graduate Studies campuses throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,600 students from 23 states and five countries/U.S. territories.
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