Otterbein University’s Department of Theatre and Dance brings a Broadway comedy to the local stage.
Is He Dead?, a comedy by Mark Twain and adapted by David Ives, runs through Feb. 27 in the Fritsche Theatre. The Broadway showing featured Norbert Leo Butz and Otterbein graduate Jeremy Bobb as Phelim O’Shaughnessy.
(L-R) Evan Moore-Coll (Dutchy), J.T. Wood (Jean-François Millet), Jack Labrecque (Chicago), and Phil Cunningham (Phelim O'Shaughnessey), in the Otterbein University Department of Theatre & Dance production of Is He Dead? Photo courtesy of Otterbein University Theatre & Dance
The plot of the show follows young aspiring painter Jean-François Millet, played by J.T. Wood. Ready to tie the knot, Millet is in debt to a villainous picture-dealer. He fears the horrors of debtors’ prison and realizes that the only way he can pay his debts and marry his girl is to die, as it is only dead painters who achieve fame and fortune.
Mark Mineart, the newest member of the Otterbein Theatre and Dance faculty, directed the production. Most recently seen in central Ohio as Black Stache in the CATCO production of Peter and the Starcatcher, Mineart’s professional theatre career spans more than 25 years and three continents as an actor, director and fight choreographer. He has appeared on and off Broadway with stars such as Denzel Washington and Kelsey Grammer, and worked at many of the nation’s most well-respected regional theatres. He created roles in almost a dozen world premiere productions, and even had roles written for him by multiple award-winning Arthur Kopit.
The show will be performed at 7:30 on Feb. 18, 2 p.m. on Feb. 21, and 8 p.m. on Feb. 19-20 and 25-27. Tickets are $18 per person and can be reserved by calling the Otterbein University box office, located in Cowan Hall, at 614-823-1109 or purchasing online at www.otterbein.edu/drama.
