King Lear
by William Shakespeare
May 9-11, 16-18, 23-25

Shakespeare's great tragedy about Lear, a king wishing to retire in peace, who divides his kingdom between his three daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.  The two eldest daughters win their father's favor with flattery while Cordelia is disowned and banished because of her honesty.  Having given the kingdom to Goneril, Regan, and their husbands, Lear is treated with contempt and malice from his daughters.  Meanwhile, one of Lear's loyal subjects, Gloucester has problems of his own.  His bastard son, Edmund, deceives Lear's daughters and Gloucester into believing that Edgar, the good son, plans Gloucester's death and taking over his fortune. In the course of the play, both Lear and Gloucester suffer physically and mentally.  In the end, Lear's madness and grief of losing Cordelia get the best of him; leaving a divided kingdom to a few loyal survivors.

Proof
by David Auburn
June 13-15, 20-22, 27-29
Auditions April 26-27, 1-4 pm
@ Maplewood Barn Community Theatre
Roles for 2 women ages 20-40's and 2 men ages 20 and up. No preparation necessary for auditions. If you have questions about auditions or this production, please email the director, Angel Kenison-Scott at angel2357@hotmail.com.

David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning play tells the story of Catherine, a young woman who has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, Robert. She must deal not only with his death, but with the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire. The attentions of Hal, a former student of her father's who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that Robert left behind, further complicate matters.

Plan 9! The Musical from Outer Space
by Chris Bowling, Meg Phillips, and J West
based on the film by Edward D. Wood
A Maplewood Barn World Premiere!
July 11-13, 18-20, 25-27
Auditions May 17-18 1-4 pm
@ 206 Townsend Hall (MU campus, directions below)
Roles for 17 men and 3 women (some multiple casting and cross-gender casting is also possible). All auditioners should prepare a short song that demonstrates their vocal range. An accompaniest and CD player will be available. Townsend Hall is located on the University of Missouri campus at the corner of 6th Street and Conley, just west of Jesse Hall. If you have any questions regarding auditions or the production please contact the director, Chris Bowling by email (chainsaw047@gmail.com) or telephone (303-1349).

Plan 9 from Outer Space is the magnum opus of Z-movie film director Edward D. Wood.  Released in 1959, Plan 9 is widely regarded as the worst film of all time.  The movie was intended to be a serious work of science fiction but was so riddled with poor writing, bad acting, cheap sets, and glaring continuity errors that the effect was unintentionally hilarious and the film has lived on as a cult classic. Now Columbia community theatre regulars Chris Bowling, Meg Phillips, and J West have lovingly reimagined this tale of alien invaders resurrecting the dead as a rock-n-roll comedy.

If you've got a broadband internet connection (or don't mind waiting several hours for downloads) you can view the original film in all its cheeserific glory here.

Lysistrata
by Aristophanes
August 15-17, 22-24, 29-31
Auditions June 21-22, time TBA
@ Maplewood Barn Community Theatre

Lysistrata has planned a meeting between all of the women of Greece to discuss the plan to end the Peloponnesian War. As Lysistrata waits for the women of Sparta, Thebes, and other areas to meet her she curses the weakness of women. Lysistrata plans to ask the women to refuse sex with their husbands until a treaty for peace has been signed. Lysistrata has also made plans with the older women of Athens (the Chorus of Old Women) to seize the Akropolis later that day. The women from the various regions finally assemble and Lysistrata convinces them to swear an oath that they will withhold sex from their husbands until both sides sign a treaty of peace. As the women sacrifice a bottle of wine to the Gods in celebration of their oath, they hear the sounds of the older women taking the Akropolis, the fortress that houses the treasury of Athens. 

The Front Page
by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Special performance at the Missouri Theatre in conjunction with the University of Missouri School of Journalism's100th anniversary
September 11-13
Auditions July 26-27, time TBA
@ Maplewood Barn Community Theatre

Called the "best American comedy ever written" by Kenneth Tynan, the 1920's classic by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur takes us inside the press room of Chicago City Hall on the day a convicted murderer, about to be hung, escapes from the adjoining jail. Fracturing ethical codes and funny bones, the reporters compete against each other to sell newspapers. Unknown to most of them, the killer has been hidden in a rolltop desk a few feet away. The most recent movie revival of The Front Page starred Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Susan Sarandon, and Carol Burnett.