The McPherson College Theatre Department opens its season with performances of the musical “Bright Star” on October 13-15 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium.

“Bright Star” is the 2015 musical adapted by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell based on the Appalachian tale of the Iron Mountain Baby. The story shows Alice at two points in her life: in 1924, after meeting her true love, and in 1945, after a new young man walks into her life.

The cast includes Rebekah Ballast, Toby Leffew, E.J. Landrum, Kade McCune, Octavius Toliver-Flient, Mattis Ahlgrimm, Jean McKinney-Chance, Sierra Portenier, Gabby Lopez, Isaac Fleming, Bailey Hulce, Jailynn Hammel, Hudson Edwards, Jewel Hardin, Phebe Lyne, Susie Cunningham, and Hannah Simmons.

“Most people are not familiar with this new musical because it opened on Broadway the same year as the musical ‘Hamilton,’” said Jd. Bowman, professor of theatre. “But, in 2022, ‘Bright Star’ was named one of the top five most-produced musicals of high schools, colleges, and amateur theatres.”

Presented in concert form, the bluegrass score and folk-telling lyrics remind the audience that we each have multiple stories of past and present running through us.

A themed meal on the opening night of each production is offered to theater season ticket holders, also known as First Nighters. Tickets to each show are available online at www.mcpherson.edu/theatre-tickets or by emailing the box office at [email protected].

Vanessa Thomas. Photo by JIM BARCUS.

Acclaimed vocalist Vanessa Thomas, known for her seamless span of five octaves, will perform at McPherson College as part of the Fern Lingenfelter Artists Series on November 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Mingenback Theatre. Admission is free.

For over a decade, Thomas toured nationally with Grammy-award winning trumpet-virtuoso Doc Severinsen. She is uniquely versatile with command across several musical genres, including classical, jazz, blues, gospel, and musical theater. Recent performances include Robert Ray’s “Gospel Mass” as the soprano, alto, and tenor soloist at Carnegie Hall and headliner for Lyric Opera and the Lied Center of Kansas in a series of outdoor concerts.

She has performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the Arizona Musicfest; with the Cincinnati Pops, the Florida Orchestra, and part of the Kansas City Symphony’s Christmasfest; and as a soloist with symphony orchestras in Minnesota, Detroit, Dayton, West Virginia, and Utah. Thomas appeared in the PBS American Masters documentary “Never Too Late.” Currently she is producing an album for distribution.

While at McPherson College, Thomas will also be teaching a masterclass on November 7.

Admission to the Lingenfelter concert is free thanks to a generous commitment to McPherson College honoring Fern Lingenfelter. Her son, Steve Clark, chairman of Clark Investment Group of Wichita, established the fund that supports two annual music performance events with special emphasis on piano. Lingenfelter, an alumna of McPherson College, taught piano in McPherson for many years to both college students on campus and younger students at her studio downtown.

Students from programs across the McPherson College curriculum will work together to present the next campus theatre production, “The Laramie Project(s)” on April 28-30 at 7:30 p.m. in Mingenback Theater at McPherson College.

“The Laramie Project(s)”, by Moises Kauffman and the Tectonic Theater Project is two plays offered together –  “The Laramie Project” and “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later.” The McPherson College theatre department first staged the “Laramie Project: 10 Years Later,” during the 2009-2010 theatre season as a world premiere in partnership with the Tectonic Theater Company.

“I cannot wait to revisit ‘The Laramie Project’ and ‘The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later,’” Jd. Bowman, professor of theatre, said. “It is such an interesting study of how we see others and how we see ourselves, especially in a town like Laramie, Wyoming.”

On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead outside of Laramie, WY. Shepard’s killers said they did it because he was gay and he hit on them. The case kicked off a national conversation, which resulted in the creation of hate crime legislation in America. Within weeks of Shepard’s attack, a group of actors from New York City flew to Laramie and set out to interview many members of the town to understand how this could happen. They returned 10 years later to continue their interviews. The resulting play is a documentary of those interviews.

Multiple classes worked to bring this production to the McPherson College stage including Tech Theatre 1 class, taught by Jen Pollard, assistant professor of theatre; Acting, taught by Bowman; and Understanding Popular Culture, taught by Julia Largent, assistant professor of communication.

A meal for season ticket holders will be offered prior to the Thursday night performance. For more information or reservations, visit https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season/

The McPherson College theatre department will present the haunting classic “Gaslight” on March 4-5 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium.

Eighty-five years ago, this classic stage production made an impact on London theatergoers and is where the modern term “gaslighting” originated. Themes center on perspective and how it can be contorted to make one question the world around them. Welcome to the Manningham home in 19^th century London. Jack, a young charismatic man helps to care for his wife, Bella, but a visitor from Scotland Yard arrives with questions. As questions become more intense, a shadow of doubt grows between Bella and her husband.

“Last year my students studied this text and it was neat to see their genuine excitement for this classic play,” Jen Pollard, theatre professor, said. “Many students did not realize the modern term gaslighting comes from this text.”

McPherson College presented this production during the 1988-89 theatre season.

A full British tea will be served for season ticket holders on Saturday, March 5 beginning at 6:20 p.m. For more information or reservations, visit https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season/. Masks are required for theatre audience members.

Cast members include Hannah Simmons as Bella; Eli Jordan as Jack; Jailynn Hammel as Elizabeth; Bailey Hulce as Nancy; Kenzie Jansonius as Detective Rough; with additional support from Bryce Martin, Evan McGoldrick, and Valick Sorter.

Crew members include Sarah Asher, stage manager; Jean McKenney-Chance, lights; Danny Salinas IV, set; Lindy Reynolds, props; Toby Leffew, sound; Bailey Hulce and Ellery McMurray, costumes; Kenzie Jansonius, hair and makeup; Jen Pollard, set and costume design, technical director; Jd. Bowman, director.

McPherson College Theatre Department will produce a one-night-only theatre experience, “White Rabbit/Red Rabbit,” by Nassim Soleimanpour featuring Jd. Bowman, professor of theatre at the college, on Friday, January 28 in Mingenback Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

Experience theatre that the New York Times described as “playful, enigmatic and haunting.” This one-of-a-kind performance literally asks the actor to sign away the right to see the script ahead of time, seeing it for the first time when it is read on opening night in front of a live audience, according to Bowman.

Unable to leave Iran, playwright Soleimanpour ‘tours’ the world through the text of his unique theatre experience that requires no director and no rehearsal. An actor receives a script in a sealed envelope for the first time on stage on opening night. What follows is a unique journey for the actor and the audience that is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“When I mentioned to my colleague that I’d like to perform again, I didn’t really mean I’d be ready to perform a one-man show where I can’t read the script ahead of time,” Bowman said. “But that’s what fits our season the best, so here we are! And yes, this makes me freak out a little, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

The production will be a Kansas premiere.

The theatre is currently offering individual performance and season ticket options by emailing [email protected] or calling 620-242-0444. For more information on the shows, dates, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season. Masks are required and seating is limited.

One of the country’s premier chamber music ensembles, the American Brass Quintet, will perform at McPherson College as part of the Fern Lingenfelter Artists Series on February 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium. Admission is free.

Hailed by Newsweek as “the high priests of brass,” the American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the era’s premier chamber music ensembles. “The most distinguished” of brass quintets (American Record Guide), the group has earned its stellar reputation through its celebrated performances, genre-defining commissioned works, and ongoing commitment to the education of generations of musicians. Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at The Juilliard School since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970.

Since its founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet has performed on five continents, made nearly 60 recordings, and premiered more than 150 contemporary works for brass.

Admission to the Lingenfelter concert is free thanks to a generous commitment to McPherson College honoring Fern Lingenfelter. Her son, Steve Clark, chairman of Clark Investment Group of Wichita, established the fund that supports two annual music performance events with special emphasis on piano. Lingenfelter, an alumna of McPherson College, taught piano in McPherson for many years to both college students on campus and younger students at her studio downtown.

The American Brass Quintet will also be teaching a master class on February 7 at 1 p.m. in Brown Auditorium. Students from McPherson College and all area high school band students are encouraged to participate. The class is free.

McPherson College continues to require masks for all indoor campus events.

The artwork of Kansas painter and printmaker, Michael Jilg, is currently on display in the McPherson College gallery at Friendship Hall.

The exhibition also features jewelry by Joyce Jilg. The exhibition will be on display through February in Friendship Hall and is open to the public on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gallery visitors are required to comply with the MC health and safety protocols that require wearing a facemask on campus.

“Michael Jilg is one of the most distinguished painters and printmakers in Kansas,” Michaela Valli Groeblacher, gallery director, said. “We are thrilled to have his art on display. Joyce Jilg uses recycled items to make beautiful jewelry and is a perfect complement to her husband’s work.”

Michael Jilg has degrees from Fort Hays State and Wichita State University and spent 30 years as an art professor at Fort Hays State University. A past Governor’s Visual Artist, he has shown his work in more than 200 exhibitions and is represented in museum collections in the United States, England, and Asia.