Alexis Edwards and Aud Godlove in SOU’s MUSEUM
SOU Theatre presents: “Museum” – A Whimsical Collision of Art and Theatre
Hold on to your seat for a collision of art and theatre in SOU’s fall theatre production of Tina Howe’s “Museum”.
“Museum” transports audiences to a vibrant 1990’s art gallery on the final day of the exhibit “The Broken Silence.” In this colorful setting, a lively cast of artists, collectors, browsers, and curators—along with the vigilant security guards—creates a delightful and comedic tapestry.
“This is such a bizarre show – a stupid hilarious comedy. Working on “Museum” has been a great experience, I get to be a scene partner to a lot of great actors and working with the witty and smart David Kelly has been superb,” said junior Aud Godlove, a guard in the production.
The play explores the whimsical temptations of the gallery, showcasing the characters’ struggles to resist (or not) the urge to touch the exhibits; the audience will experience waves of non-stop humor. With a witty blend of highbrow and lowbrow banter, the characters offer unique perspectives as they critique and celebrate the art around them. Howe’s clever exploration of those who create, present, and appreciate art raises thought-provoking questions about the future of art museums and the role of art in society.
Performances will run Thursday-Saturday, November 14-16 and November 20-23 at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, November 23-24 at 2 p. m. on the SOU Main Stage Theatre at 491 S. Mountain Avenue in Ashland. SOU students, faculty, and staff get 2 complimentary tickets to the show. To get tickets, visit sou.universitytickets.com or call the OCA Box Office at 541.552.6348.
Bring your friends and family – “Museum” is rated PG-13 for adult language and will run approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.
The SOU cast includes: Aud Godlove and Grant Halverson – Guards, Pierce Bach as M. Wall, Byers Sullivan as Jean-Claude/Steve Williams, Natalie Guidi as Francoise, Artemisia Chargualaf as Annette/Julie Jenkins, Georgia Black as Liz, Mary-Ellen McGinnis as Carol/Lillian, Miyabi Saito as Blakey/M. Gregory, Vincent Bohren as F. Izumi, Sonja Kinney as Elizabeth Sorrow/Chole Trapp, Trevor Bikos as Peter Ziff/Giorgio, Sarah Watson as Mr. Salt/Harriet, Loren Donely as Mrs. Salt/May, Morghan Rash as M. Snow/Ada Bilditsky, Aidan Jenkins as Bob Lamb/Bill Plaid, Leora Aurilio as Will Willard/Mr. Moe, Samantha Sinclair as Barbara Zimmer, Gabi Vidaña as Hollingsford/Gilda Norris, Alexis Edwards as Passing Person 1/Tink Solheim, Bella Black as Mira Zadal/Kate Siv with recorded voices/understudies: Ella Vandal and Nicolas Budde.
“Be ready for some laughs as art and theatre collide,” said David Kelly, director.
“Working with David Kelly on this wacky and beautiful play has truly been a once in a lifetime experience. He makes sure everyone feels welcome and encourages us to have fun while also making sure we know we are in a safe and loving space,” said SOU senior Alexis Edwards, who plays “Tink Solheim” in “Museum.”
“This play truly has it all, and we hope you’ll join us for all of the antics as we poke fun at artists from all walks of life – including ourselves,” said Kelly.
Kelly is overjoyed to be back at SOU where he taught for more than15 years and directed Ring Around the Moon. He has been acting at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for thirty years. Some of his favorite productions at OSF include: The Book of Will, The Pirates of Penzance, Richard II, The Imaginary Invalid, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Guys and Dolls, Timon of Athens, Baltimore Waltz, Welcome Home Jenny Sutter, Pravda, Death of a Salesman and Hairspray. Recently, David has been working at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Huntington Theater in Boston, The Guthrie, Berkeley Repertory, Arizona Theater Company, and last fall at The Public Theater in “Manahatta,” which premiered at OSF in 2018. David is also proud to have been a 2nd grade teaching assistant at Walker Elementary School in Ashland during the Pandemic.
“Museum” was produced Off-Broadway by the Keen Company in 2002, directed by Carl Forsman. In his Village Voice review, Michael Feingold wrote, “This is the most enchantingly tesserated play ever written…if Mozart had been a TV producer, this is what a ‘Candid Camera’ segment on art might have looked like.
Tina Howe (1937-2023), creator of “Museum” was a prolific and influential American playwright. Her most produced plays include: “Birth and After Birth,” “Museum,” “The Art of Dining,” “Painting Churches,” “Coastal Disturbances,” “Approaching Zanzibar,” and “Pride’s Crossing.” These and other works premiered at the Public Theater, the Kennedy Center, Second Stage, The Old Globe Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Atlantic Theater Company and Primary Stages, as well as being translated and produced abroad.
Among her many awards were an Obie for Distinguished Playwriting, a Tony Award nomination for Best Play, an Outer Circle Critics Award, a Rockefeller Grant, two N.E.A. Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, the Sidney Kingsley Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, two honorary degrees, the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre, a Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement and, most recently, PEN’s Master American Playwright award in 2015.
A two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Howe taught at NYU, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and UCLA before becoming Visiting Professor at Hunter College in 1990, then going on to launch the Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA in Playwriting in 2010 as Playwright-in-Residence.
Her works can be read in numerous anthologies as well as in “Coastal Disturbances: Four Plays by Tina Howe” and “Birth and After Birth,” and “A Marriage Cycle”, published by Theatre Communications Group. Her other publications include her translations of Ionesco’s “The Bald Soprano” and “The Lesson” (Grove Press) and “Shrinking Violets and “Towering Tiger Lilies: Seven Brief Plays about Women in Distress” (Samuel French). She is also the subject of “Howe in an Hour”, edited by Judith Barlow, published by Smith and Kraus. Ms. Howe was proud to have served on the council of the Dramatists Guild from 1990 to 2023.
To learn more about the School of Arts and Communication, or the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU including 24-25 theatre productions, concerts, special events, tickets, and more please visit oca.sou.edu/events.
The pdf version of SOU’s Museum is located here.
