MCC’s Overbrook Theater opens its 2018-19 season on Oct. 24-28 with George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” adapted by Ian Wooldridge and directed by MCC Theater Instructor Sheila Kulp Wahamaki.
Evening performances will take place on Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 24-27 at 7:30 p.m., with a 3 p.m. show set for Sunday, Oct. 28. Tickets, which go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 17 in the Overbrook Theater Box Office, are $10 for public and $5 for MCC students, staff, and faculty. Tickets may be reserved by calling (231) 777-0324.
After revolting against the reign of their negligent human master, the animals of Mr. Jones’s Manor Farm create their own ideal society in which all animals are equal and rules are set by democratic vote. It all works well until the allure of power leads the animals to a chilling fate. “Animal Farm” illustrates how new tyranny replaces old in the wake of revolutions and power corrupts even the noblest of causes.
Orwell originally had much trouble finding a publisher. Even though the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its bleak aftermath were still in recent memory, British editors were reticent to upset the tenuous alliance between England and the Soviets. However, once it was released, Orwell’s novel sent him into the stratosphere of literary stardom and “Animal Farm” found universal relevance in any society where totalitarianism lurked.
The acting ensemble is comprised of MCC students Tiffany Bartlett, Keegan Colcleasure, Taylor DePouw, Taylor Freed, Cole Halterman, Isaac Hunter, Stephanie Kennert, Melanie Lamrock, Brandon Lemieux, Alexx Lohman, Ashley Poling, Rachel Wade, and Marvin Watkins.
Assisting in presenting the play are MCC Student Director Olyvia Staples, Set and Sound Designer Tom Harryman, Lighting Designer Jim Allen, Costume Designer Susan Eyler, and Hair Designer Bill Abbott.