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'Merry Wives' adds silliness to Shakespeare

April 21, 2008 @ 06:59 PM

BETH HENDRICKS

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- Only with Shakespeare could a story of an aging, portly philanderer make for a farce fit for theater in 2008.

"The Merry Wives of Windsor," a tale of errant knight Sir John Falstaff, will be presented by the Marshall University Theatre Department as the conclusion to another semester. Performances run Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center.

"Farce is pure entertainment. It's fast-paced, physical comedy. 'Merry Wives' is one of the silliest plays ever written, in my opinion," said show director Gene Anthony.

The history of "Merry Wives of Windsor" dates back to Queen Elizabeth, who commissioned the creation of the show after falling in love with Falstaff's character in "Henry the Fourth, Part I." The result was a comical tale of Falstaff as he attempts to seduce two wealthy, married women who are a bit too smart for him.

The show is in line with the goals of the theatre department staff who desire to expose budding actors and actresses to a variety of performance styles and Shakespeare pieces, in particular.

"These shows are basically lab experiences for the public that we use as teaching tools. We try to keep things pretty eclectic and varied," Anthony said. "For these young actors who go off to work professionally, most start regionally in Cincinnati or Cleveland or Lexington, and those particular companies do a significant amount of Shakespeare.

"We chose this one in particular because we'd just done the tragedy 'Julius Caesar.' We haven't done a Shakespearean farce in a couple of years."

The show features 23 actors and actresses -- a huge cast for a nonmusical, according to Anthony, and a larger-than-normal cast of freshmen for the show being staged in a faux Elizabethan-style playhouse.

"We never really know what we're going to get with the freshman class when they come in, but we have some incredibly talented actors in this show -- 10 freshmen, which is unprecedented in my tenure at Marshall," Anthony said. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Tickets are $14 for adults; $12 for seniors, MU faculty and staff; $7 for youths 17 and younger; and free to full-time MU students with valid identification. For more information, call (304) 696-2787.

Events

Harry Connick Jr.
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Award-winning jazz artist Connick will perform part of his "A Holiday Celebration" tour. Tickets, visit www.theclaycenter.org or...

Erik Meyers
7:30 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20-23. Enjoy a fast-paced, high-energy comedy show. Meyers has been a regular on 98 Rock...

MU Theater: "The Glass Menagerie"
8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 19-22. Tennessee Williams' 1944 drama "The Glass Menagerie," his self-described "memory play," has been considered...

Capital City Art and Craft Show
...

Festival of Trees and Trains
Saturday, Nov. 22-30. Questions, call 606-324-3175.

4th annual Holly Berry Festival
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in the lobby. Featuring hand-made items designed and made by local and area crafters and a book sale. Sponsored by the Marshall...

Ashland Christmas Parade
...

World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, in the coliseum. Tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com or any Ticketmaster box office.

51st annual Model Railroad Show
5-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28-30. Featuring model railroads, hobby shops, memorabilia sales, railroad books, new and used...

Planetarium Show: "Reason for the Season"
11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, starting Nov. 28. Questions, call 304-561-3570 or visit www.theclaycenter.org.

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The Metropolitan Opera: La Damnation de Faust

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Fathom presents the excitement of The Met: Live in HD on the Big Screen! The LIVE transmission of Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust" will be shown for one day only on Saturday, Nov 22 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT in select theatres nationwide. Robert Lepage, one of theater's most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz's contemplation of good and evil. Using ethereal projections, Lepage has created a vision for "La Damnation de Faust" that seamlessly marries art and technology. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.

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Rated R for some violence and language

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Rated PG for some mild thematic elements

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Rated R for strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout

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Rated PG for some mild action and peril

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Rated PG-13 for some sensuality

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Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content

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Role Models

Released 7-Nov-08. Runs 95 min.

Danny and Wheeler trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad. Surrounded by annoying do-gooders, Danny struggles with his every neurotic impulse to guide Augie through the trials of becoming a man. Unfortunately, the guy just dumped by his girlfriend has only sarcasm to offer a bashful 16-year-old obsessed with medieval role play. Meanwhile, charming Wheeler tries to trade in an addiction to partying and women to assist a fifth-grader named Ronnie redirect his foul-mouthed ways. It would probably help if Ronnie's new mentor wasn't an overgrown adolescent whose idea of quality time includes keggers in Venice Beach. Once the center's ex-con director gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world's worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

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Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, language and brief nudity

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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D

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Rated PG

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Rated PG-13 for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language

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Twilight

Released 21-Nov-08. Runs 120 min.

"Twilight" is an action-packed, modern-day love story between a teenage girl and a vampire. Bella Swan has always been a little bit different, never caring about fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix high school. When her mother re-marries and sends Bella to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Wash., she doesn't expect much of anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen, a boy unlike any she's ever met. Edward is a vampire, but he doesn't have fangs and his family is unique in that they choose not to drink human blood. Intelligent and witty, Edward sees straight into Bella's soul. Soon, they are swept up in a passionate, thrilling and unorthodox romance. To Edward, Bella is what he has waited 90 years for--a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. But what will Edward and Bella do when a clan of new vampires--James, Laurent and Victoria--come to town and threaten to disrupt their way of life?

Rated PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality

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Released 17-Oct-08. Runs 129 min.

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Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images

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Zack and Miri

Released 31-Oct-08. Runs 101 min.

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Dining

GOOD EATS: China Garden remains lunch habit for downtowners

November 19, 2008 @ 08:40 PM

HUNTINGTON -- First opening its doors nine years ago under the ownership of Tian Duan Zheng, the China Garden Buffet has become a lunch habit for many students and workers in downtown Huntington.

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