Due to some complications with the new play MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, TLU Dramatic Media is excited to announce a change in the annual season.  THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] will be produced instead.  This beloved comedy, which took the theatre world by storm, features a talented group of students who will produce the show through TheatreXpress, the official student production organization at Texas Lutheran University.  The play will be directed by senior Luke Nelson, with assistance from senior David Soop.  The cast features Ryan Beene, Connor Dillion, Allisa Johnson, and Bryan Mittelstadt.  See details below!  

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED]
by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield
Feb. 6-8
Evenings:  Friday, and Saturday @ 7:30 PM • Matinees:  Friday and Sunday @ 2:30 PM

 All 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes?!  That’s the goal of this madcap dash through the Bard’s canon, as performed by a three-person troupe.  An irreverent, fast-paced romp, the play weaves its way through all of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.  The play was born when three inspired, charismatic comics, having honed their pass-the-hat act at Renaissance fairs, premiered their preposterous masterwork at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987. It quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, earning the title of London's second-longest-running comedy after a decade at the Criterion Theatre. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) is one of the world's most frequently produced plays, and has been translated into dozens languages.  As reviewed by The Today Show, “If you like Shakespeare, you’ll love this show.  If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll love this show!”

Anton Antonovich Skvoznik Dumakhanovsky, at right, the Mayor of Supgorod (Soup Town) in Russia, presents Mayor Don Keil of Seguin with an honorary riding crop.  Dumakhanovsky was overheard saying, “It’s how I keep the peasants in line!”  The two dignitaries met at Seguin’s City Hall during a whirlwind tour to discuss a possible trade agreement.  Mayor Dumakhonovsky pitched the following to Keil, “We are known for our delicious cabbage soup.  Plus, my personal vineyard produces wine that is both viscous and bubbly.  By the end of the next decade we want to be able to say that ours will be one of the finest small family-owned vintners in this part of the western south-central section of our district!  Would you be willing to trade for your big pecan?”  At that point, Mayor Keil quickly wielded his new riding crop, chasing Dumakhanovsky out of the building.  The Russian escaped in his troika, racing west down Court Street as fast as his six horses could carry him.  As the carriage disappeared, Keil yelled, “Go back to Siberia!”   

In an effort to thaw the icy diplomatic tensions, the public is invited to meet Mayor Dumakhanovsky and the other fictional citizens of Supgorod this weekend, November 14—16, at Texas Lutheran University.  The department of Dramatic Media will produce The Government Inspector, a comic farce adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original play by Nikolai Gogol.  This classic comedy, updated for a modern audience, promises to bring reconciliation through laughter.  Evening performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM, with matinees on Friday and Sunday at 2:30 PM.  General admission tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior-citizens and student ages, and free with a TLU ID.