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Lees-McRae Department of Performing Arts Opens 2014 Fall Season With ‘Cinderella: Enchanted Edition’ Oct. 2-5

Sept. 9, 2014. Lees-McRae College’s Department of Performing Arts is proud to announce the performance schedule for its 2014 fall season. The Department will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition and Craig Lucas’ Reckless. Both shows will be held in Hayes Auditorium at Lees-McRae College. Cinderella will be performed Oct. 2-5 and Reckless will be performed Nov. 20-23. Tickets will go on sale one hour before the performance and are $12 for adults, $5 for children and free for Lees-McRae students, faculty and staff. All seating is general admission.

imgresBased on the movie adaptation starring Brandy and Whitney Houston, Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition promises entertainment for all audiences.

“I have always loved the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” said Dr. Michael Hannah ’93, director of Cinderella and program coordinator of musical theatre. “And I’ve always wanted to direct it. This year, I decided it was time to do it. With the current Broadway production’s popularity, there’s never been a better time to tell this wonderful story. The characters are familiar but updated to sound a bit more contemporary. As long as the music is still Rodgers and Hammerstein’s fantastic score with “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” It’s always going to be a wonderful evening of family entertainment.”

Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition, will be performed Oct. 2-4 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.

An absurdist dark comedy, Reckless follows Rachel, who, at home on Christmas Eve, is informed by her guilt-stricken husband that he has hired a hitman to kill her, and she must flee for her life – which she does by scrambling out the bedroom window and into the snowy night. She meets and joins up with Lloyd Bophletophti, who has changed his name to avoid alimony payments and who now lives with a paraplegic named Pootie. Rachel then wins $100,000 on a TV game show and begins a series of picturesque escapades involving numerous physiatrists and eventually an ill-fated reunion with her husband.

“Reckless can be very moving for anyone who fought to find hope after being deceived, betrayed or abandoned,” said David Craven, director of Reckless and program coordinator of Performing Arts Studies. “I am thrilled to get to share a play with such a scope of emotions, plot twists and salvation with the actors who will breathe life into this play as well as the audiences.”

Reckless will be performed Nov. 20-22 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.

Through an integrated curriculum, the performing arts studies program prepares artists and leaders for a diverse and challenging job market and trains practitioners in the field to impact the development and welfare of their community through viable arts experiences. Students study creative and artistic direction, performance, technical theatre, arts management and conduct academic research. Utilizing performance venues on campus (Hayes Auditorium, Broyhill Theatre, Lauritsen Technical Theatre and Design Studio and a professional company – Lees-McRae Summer Theatre) students gain hands on knowledge the moment they arrive on campus. Similarly, the BFA in musical theatre is designed to prepare students to pursue careers as performers and leaders in musical theatre.

For official logos and production credits, please contact Megan Hall, director of communications, at hallm@lmc.edu. For more information about performing arts at Lees-McRae, please visit lmc.edu/pa.

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Lees-McRae College is a private, four-year college offering diverse baccalaureate degrees, strong athletic programs and outstanding faculty. With 900 students hailing from 35 states and more than 10 countries, Lees-McRae’s broad core curriculum is enhanced by field-specific career preparation and experiential learning with an emphasis in leadership and service. For more information, please visit www.lmc.edu or call 800.280.4562.