MacKenzie Dayne Hall

 
Theatre to perform ‘Into the Breeches’

BY MACKENZIE HALL

Staff Writer The OBU theatre department is hard at work preparing for their newest production, “Into the Breeches,” set to run Sept. 23-27 at Verser Theater.

The play is set in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the fall of 1942 and the Oberon Play House has shut down due to World War II. The theater’s leading men are fighting for their country while the women are left to produce their own theater production. The director’s wife gathers her husband’s notes and proposes to produce an all-female play to the president of the Oberon.

“The show is all about assembling this cast of all women and then, as it goes on, we add more to the unexpected team of the cast,” Director Matthew Murry said. “It’s all about collaboration, persistence, acceptance, challenging one’s own mindset and then growing from that challenge.”

The production offers audiences humor and heart as the women navigate taking on the role of their husbands. They pioneer a new standard for the status quo.

“Several characters in the play are met with challenges needing to adapt to the world and the way they view other people, and most of them make positive changes from their challenges,” Murry said. “The play is kind of a vehicle for the underrepresented. Women during war time, most of them were to stay at home before the war and not work. And then, when the men went away, they were needed to fill the position that was previously filled by men.”

Ashlynn Lockhart, a senior musical theater major, plays the lead role of Maggie Dalton, the director of the all-female production. As she prepares to tell Maggie’s story, Lockhart hopes the audience will experience the sense of community among the characters.

“I want the audience to take away that there is space for everyone in storytelling and telling other people’s stories. This play is about giving opportunities to people who haven’t had those opportunities to tell stories before,” Lockhart said. “It really drives the point home that we’re all in this together. I hope it brings a sense of community and the audience takes away that.”

Lockhart is also excited to see other cast members in the play. The crew has a tight-knit community that she believes will be evident during the performance.

“The rest of the cast is going to tell the story perfectly. They are talented in their roles; we all blend well,” Lockhart said. “The cast and crew are continuously encouraging. The atmosphere is healthy, and we are all trying to create theater and tell the story together. It’s nice to all be on the same page and lifting one another up, it is very edifying.”

For tickets and more information, visit obu.edu/boxoffice, or call the box office at 870-245-5555.