The Southwestern College Summer Theatre Festival will present Tony nominated and OBIE award winning musical “[title of show]” on Friday and Saturday, July 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m., in Messenger Recital Hall located in the Darbeth Fine Arts Center.  The show will be performed as an optional dinner theatre in partnership with a local restaurant, and ticket options for show only or shows with dinner are available.  The show is rated PG-13 due to adult content.

“[title of show],” created by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, will be directed by Carman Moon, with musical direction by Brian Winnie. The cast of four stars Mathew Porter, Austin Davis, Allie Petrovich, and Julianna Smarsh.

“We hope the community will come join the Southwestern College Summer Theatre Festival interns as they explore the creative process necessary to move a musical idea to Broadway,” says Moon.  

The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and composer/lyricist and their two actress friends during the initial brief (three-week) creative period, along with subsequent events leading up to the show's production off and on Broadway. Bowen and Bell, determined to write an original musical rather than adapt an existing play or movie, discovered almost immediately that their conversations about what to write were more interesting than what they were actually writing. One character in the show explains that they are trying to write a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical.

Moon says that this production includes several levels of comedy.

“It is a thinking comedy,” Moon says.  “The jokes land on a multitude of levels.  If you have a theatre background, you will see it on a different level.  This production shows the collaboration that is necessary for any creative venture.  The audience will see the highs and lows of this process and how to take an idea and create something amazing.”

Dinner times for the shows on July 22 and 23 will be at 6 p.m., with the show at 7:30 p.m.  Dinner on July 24 will be at 12:30 p.m., with the show at 2 p.m. Tickets for dinner and show are $25 for adults and $20 for youth.  Show-only tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
For tickets, call (620) 221-7720 or email boxoffice@sckans.edu. For more information contact Allyson Moon at (620) 229-6328.