'Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off' Comes to Wooster
'Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off' Comes to Wooster
Performances to be held Feb. 24-27 in The College of Wooster's Freedlander Theatre
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John Finn
330-263-2145
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Nina Takacs (La Corbie), Malcolm Campbell-Taylor (Darnley), and Bridget Hillyer (Elizabeth) are three of the student performers in Wooster's production of "Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off," which will be onstage at Freedlander Theatre Feb. 24-27.
WOOSTER, Ohio - The tumultuous relationship between Mary Stuart and her first cousin, Elizabeth, provides the backdrop for Liz Lochhead's 1987 classic, "Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off," which comes to The College of Wooster's Freedlander Theatre (329 E. University St.) for four performances this week (Feb. 24-27). The play begins at 8:15 each evening, but patrons are encouraged to arrive at 8 p.m. for a festive prelude of music and merriment.
"We're promising a rollickin' good time, so get here early" said Penny Cole, visiting assistant professor of theatre and director of the production. "It's serious theatre, but it is also a celebration of Scottish culture."
The play, which was written to mark the 400th anniversary of Mary's execution, explores the issues facing women in power at that time and the impact of the choices they had to make in their personal lives (e.g. marriage, children, religion, etc.) on their ability to rule the country, and vice versa, according to Cole.
The Wooster production will feature musicians, pipers, and dancers as well as a professional dialect coach who will help the cast and the audience work through the Scottish brogue. The play will take place in the round with seating on stage divided into six sections - each one representing a Scottish Clan: Stewart, Campbell, Moffatt, Maclean, Mackay, and, of course, MacLeod, which has a prominent role in Wooster's Scottish heritage.
The cast features junior Amanda Keith as Mary and first-year student Bridget Hillyer as Elizabeth. The two antagonists are joined by seniors Travis Brown (Bothwell) and Marten Dollinger (Riccio); juniors Owen Reynolds (Knox), Nina Takacs (Corbie), and Valerie Mozena (Mummer, Ambassador, Commoner, Child); and first-year Malcolm Campbell-Taylor (Darnley). The two dancers are Jackie Komos, a junior, and Ashley Stockwell, a sophomore. The set designer is senior Nathan Comstock, who has painted a map of the British Isles on the floor of the stage.
General admission tickets are $9. Tickets for faculty, staff, and non-College of Wooster students as well as senior citizens are $6. Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2241) or e-mail.