Contact
Adam Twiss
Director of Theatre
252-399-6484
ajtwiss@barton.edu

November 2011

In the latter part of the 19th century, a new sensibility was emerging in theatre circles. No longer would audiences be satisfied with bombastic storytelling and rhetoric; fading were the broad gestures and exaggerated expressions of melodramatic fare, as well as the over-the-top, stock characters of comedy. This new style would become known as "dramatic realism." It sought to create believable circumstances onstage - real characters with real motivations. The impact was immediately profound. Empathy became the quintessential measuring stick of successful drama, which, in turn, changed the very course of Western theatre.

Presenting one of the iconic plays from the canon of dramatic literature is a privilege for any theatre, and Theatre at Barton is pleased to present one of the most controversial pieces of its time, A Doll's House, by the recognized "father" of dramatic realism, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Though the content seems relatively tame by our contemporary standards, this play was simultaneously called feminist, amoral, atheistic, and incited riots throughout Europe in the late 1870s.

Theatre at Barton is proud to present this outstanding play - with the sincere hope that no riots break out!

September 2011

A star-studded concert of Broadway selections from shows too big to be fully mounted on the Hot Summer Nights or Barton stages!

Produced by Lauren Kennedy and starring Alan Campbell, Ray Walker, Yolanda Rabun, and a host of talented performers from the stages of Broadway and Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy, this is a fantastic way to wrap up a Hot Summer Nights theatre season and kick off Barton's!

May 2011

This strikingly original play mixes comedy, history, and drama to great effect. Shiloh Rules is set on the famous battlefield, but in the present day rather than in 1862. Two veteran re-enactors, a mysterious Southern refugee and a no-nonsense Northern nurse, have a long and checkered history at Shiloh. Their feud stirs the passions of young trainees each is introducing to the battle. The mayhem that results draws in a park ranger patrolling the battlefield who, as an African-American woman, would rather be anywhere else than in the middle of the Civil War. As the re-enactment rages out of control, the players discover that some conflicts of the War Between the States weren’t left behind in 1862.

March 2011

A musical by Rupert Holmes adapted from Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, this wildly warm-hearted theatrical experience kicks off with our actors playing actors playing characters in a flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery. The story itself deals with John Jasper, a Jekyll-and-Hyde choirmaster who is quite madly in love with his music student, the fair Miss Rosa Bud. Now, Miss Bud is, in turn, engaged to Jasper's nephew, young Edwin Drood. Our title character disappears mysteriously one stormy Christmas Eve — but has Edwin Drood been murdered? And, if so, then whodunnit?

The giddy playfullness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of Drood's most talked-about features: the vote, which allows the audience to choose the solution to the mystery as prelude to the most unusual and hilarious finale!

October 2010

A journey of horror and hubris beckons you. Embark on one of the most frightening and enduring tales of all time, William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth. Written in the early 1600's, the play centers on a proud and powerful military leader, Macbeth, who will stop at nothing to attain and keep the crown he so covets. Witches, ghosts, prophecy, and murder converge "upon the heath," making for a spellbinding evening of theatre!

September 2010

Tell Me on a Sunday brings Broadway star Lauren Kennedy back to Barton College and to the stage that bears her name. With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black, Tell Me on a Sunday is a a one-act musical that tells the story of an ordinary girl whose romantic misadventures lead her to New York, Hollywood, and back again in search of love. The show will be directed by award-winning Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy veteran Matthew-Jason Willis.

March 2010

A remarkable play that follows the life and legacy of Phillis Wheatley, a freed slave and America's first published, black poet. Her circle of devotees to included luminaries George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson; her work inspires generations of writers to this day.

November 2009

Waiting for Godot has been called the greatest play of the 20th century and is by all accounts a modern classic. The play may be viewed in an existential or absurd light, but the playwright never desired a label.

Two characters pass the time waiting on the side of a road for someone named "Godot." As they wait, other characters come along and offer bits of enlightenment, information, and entertainment.

The play has engendered incredible scholarly debate aimed at exposing a hidden meaning. Although overt political, biblical, and Freudian undertones exist, Waiting for Godot is more a comment on man himself than on those elements that comprise him.

The play has been adapted to film several times and was successfully revived on Broadway in 2009 with award-winning actors Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, and John Goodman.

Gala Opening 2009

The Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre at Barton College hosts the world premiere of Drift, produced by Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy and directed by Broadway star Lauren Kennedy.

According to Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy, this "production of a highly successful concept album written by Jeremy Schonfeld comes to life when a man, newly single, steps into the empty apartment he once shared with his wife and daughter and the memories flood his mind. His path is paved with humor, passion, disappointment and most importantly, hope."