Get ready for an exciting end to the 2014-15 Intimate Gatherings series hosted by MSC OPAS, as well as a presentation of the award-winning Frogz!, part of MSC OPAS' new Family series.
Texas A&M University’s MSC OPAS will turn up the heat in Rudder Theatre on Thursday, March 27, at 7:30pm with the stage adaption of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The play, which contains mature subject matter, will conclude the 2014-15 Intimate Gatherings series. The cast of the play will follow the performance with a question and answer session for the audience.
One of the most revered novels of the twentieth-century, Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury’s dystopian tale of a bleak future where literature and knowledge are on the edge of extinction. Considered a work of science fiction when first published, Fahrenheit 451 has been debated for decades. Issues of censorship, the effects of technology on society and literature, and the means by which knowledge is gained continue to be very real concerns today. The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman with the frightful, but routine, job of starting fires to destroy books and the houses that contain them. When his eccentric, young neighbor, Clarisse, forces Guy to confront the emptiness of his life, he begins to question his job and the oppressive society he lives in.
Written in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 has been reprinted dozens of times since its initial publication and has achieved the rare distinction of being both a literary classic and a perennial bestseller. It was adapted for the stage by Ray Bradbury and in 1966, Fahrenheit 451 was directed by Francois Truffaut for the screen.
With its skill at creating innovative and modern productions of great works of literature, the Aquila Theatre will bring new life to Ray Bradbury’s visionary parable of a society gone awry. The New Yorker describes Aquila’s productions as “The classics made relevant with superb acting and clever staging” while The New York Times exclaims "The excellent Aquila Theatre, an extraordinarily inventive and disciplined outfit.”
The mission of Aquila Theatre is to make classical works accessible to the greatest number of theater patrons. A play becomes ‘classical’ when recognized that, after a time, it transcends the original culture it was created for. It retains the power to provoke the central question of what it means to be human. As a company dedicated to the classics, Aquila Theatre feels a responsibility to acknowledge and explore newfound classical works. Founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck, Aquila is now based in New York City.
The OPAS Intimate Gatherings series is sponsored by Sterling Auto Group, Karbach Brewing Company, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and Prosperity Bank.
MSC Opas will also present Imago Theatre’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed theatrical production of Frogz! on Saturday, March 29 , at 7pm in Rudder Auditorium at as part of the new OPAS Family series.
Frogz! was a runaway success when presented by the American Repertory Theatre in its Zero Arrow Theatre during the 2005-06 Season, and received the IRNE Award for best Visiting Company for 2005. The show has won raves from the media, including The New York Times, which described it as “inspired, very funny…captivating” and “an exercise in audience relaxation and inventive fun.” Similarly, the Boston Globe raved that it’s,“a whimsical, fantastical zoo.” Frogz! has been described as Cirque Du Soleil-evoking acrobatics mixed with Mummenschanz-like mime, set in a unique yet accessable French-influenced avant-garde playground.
Frogz! is penguins playing musical chairs, a cat trapped in a giant paper bag, orbs running wild through the audience, and a madcap revue of illusion, comedy and fun that has inspired audiences worldwide. It has been performed in China, Europe and at some of North America’s most revered festivals.
Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad, the creators of Imago, have been called alchemists, magicians, theatrical animators, and physical comedians. Defying classification, they have populated the stage with characters and beings such as comedic amphibians, acrobatic larvae, circus boulders, and metamorphosing humans in works which tantalize the senses, the intellect, and the passions. From adaptations of classics to excursions into vaudevillian existentialism, Imago's repertoire is as vast as the forms they shape. With commissions for stage, film, and television, Imago blurs the lines of the expected to break new ground, exploding performance boundaries yet maintaining humor and humanity. Imago Theatre tours internationally while also producing a season at its home base in Portland, Oregon. The company's critically acclaimed productions Frogz! and ZooZoo have played at the prestigious New Victory Theatre on Broadway.
The OPAS Family Series is supported by Chick-fil-A Aggieland & South College Station, Blue Bell Creameries and OPAS Encore.
Tickets for Farenheit 451 range from $32 to $52. Special ticket prices are available for students. Tickets for Frogz! are $28. All tickets can be purchased at the MSC Box Office or online at www.mscopas.org
For more information about MSC OPAS, visit www.mscopas.org, or call (979) 845-1234.
