Missouri State University Theatre and Dance Department presents their spring dance show "Strutting and Fretting", coordinated by Ruth Barnes, choreographed by MSU faculty and danced by students, Friday and Saturday May 1st and 2nd at 7:30pm and Sunday the 3rd at 2:30pm in the Craig Hall Coger Theater.
The concert is loosely based on the elements of an early 20th-century vaudeville show: charming skirt dancers, flashy hoofers, elegant ballerinas, powerful vocalists. Says Ruth Barnes, "We wanted to make something entertaining and light--and different." There are 17 short numbers in the show, and they'll be introduced by an M.C. Thus, no printed cards or placards on-stage to announce each act... there will also be no hook to forcibly remove acts from the stage! However, there is a poetry recitation--"really bad poetry," says Ruth! Also, no animal acts such as you'd see in old-time vaudeville. And as this is vaudeville and not burlesque, no strippers!
They've updated this early 20th-century family entertainment to affectionately acknowledge the history of the elusive art of performance. Stories of love and friendship are told with a tongue-in-cheek twist. It's a program of fun, playful new works with the musical emphasis on nostalgia. Tunes by Scott Joplin, Victor Herbert, Noel Coward and even Debussy are featured, as well as the quartet "Lyda Rose" from Meredith Willson's The Music Man, sung by four tenors. Also featured will be MSU Music faculty members, mezzo-soprano Anne Marie Daehn and pianist Peter Collins.
Tickets are $14 adults, $12 students/senior citizens; or $8 in advance with MSU ID. For information call the MSU TIX number, 836-7678 or visit http://theatreanddance.missouristate.edu.
