The Taylor Theatre Playbills collection features programs from Taylor’s stage productions, including Taylor Theatre, musicals, playback theatre, and Taylor’s Touring Company. Some operas are also included.
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Busman’s Honeymoon
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1988 performance of Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers.
Busman’s Honeymoon is the story of Dorothy Sayer’s famous detective, Lord Peter Whimsey, and his new wife, Harriette Vane, who have just arrived at an old farmhouse in Hertfordshire where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they discover the owner of the house murdered, their honeymoon is disrupted and they work together to discover the murderer.
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The King and I
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1988 performance of The King and I by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
The King and I is the story of a British schoolteacher named Anna, who is hired by the King of Siam to help modernize his country and the relationship between between them.
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Agnes of God
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1987 performance of Agnes of God by John Pielmeier.
Agnes of God is the story of a nun who gives birth but insists it is a result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash over the investigation.
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Cotton Patch Gospel
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1987 performance of Cotton Patch Gospel book by Tom Key and Russel Treyz, music and lyrics by Harry Chapin.
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The Fifties: White Bucks and Blue Suede Shoes
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1987 performance of The Fifties: White Bucks and Blue Suede Shoes by Oliver Hubbard.
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Up the Down Staircase
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1987 performance of Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman.
Up the Down Staircase tells the story of an idealistic English teacher in an inner-city high school who hopes to develop a love for classic literature in her students. The play follows her struggles with students, fellow teachers, and the bureaucracy and how she touches the lives of her students.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1986 performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
In just one night, four magical stories are cleverly woven together: the marriage of the Athenian duke to the Amazon queen; the battle of the king and queen of the fairies; the follies of four lovers in a forest; and the hilarious antics of amateur actors staging a play. Enter a vibrant world where fairies fly overhead, a donkey bursts into song, and love potion makes your perspective turn on a dime. This production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is an immersive theatrical experience suitable for theatergoers nine to 90—one you don't want to miss!
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Arsenic and Old Lace
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1986 performance of Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring.
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The Good Doctor
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1986- performance of The Good Doctor by Neil Simon.
The Good Doctor is a series of short plays based on various works by Anton Chekhov.
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“…And What A Time It Was.”
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1985 Advanced Oral Interpretation Class’s performance of ”…And What A Time It Was.” by Dr. Oliver Hubbard.
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I Never Sang For My Father
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1985 performance of I Never Sang For My Father by Robert Anderson.
I Never Sang For My Father is the story of widowed professor Gene Garrison, who looks to get away from his father and remarry a woman in California, but struggles with the thought of leaving.
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The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1985 performance of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel.
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds tells the story of a dysfunctional family of a single mother and two daughters and their struggles as the mother tries to keep her daughters from succeeding.
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The Rivals
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1985 performance of The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
The Rivals tells the story of young lovers, Lydia Languish and Captain Jack Absolute and the mishaps which happen when Jack’s father tries to arrange a marriage for him and a sequence of gossip and misdelivered letters sets off a clash between Lydia’s suitors.
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J.B.
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1984 performance of J.B. by Archibald MacLeish.
J.B. is a retelling of the Biblical story of Job by two old circus performers by the name of Zuss and Nickles (Zeus and Satan), who make a wager and play out Job’s story in modern America where Job is a millionaire named J.B..
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Somebody Stole My Stuff
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1984 performance of Somebody Stole My Stuff compiled and arranged by Dr. Jessica Rousselow.
Somebody Stole My Stuff is an original choreopoem, a dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song. This original arrangement explores the identity of women in society, drawing from the concepts of feminist philosopher-theologian Mary Daly.
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The Music Man
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1984 performance of The Music Man by Meredith Wilson.
The Music Man is a the story of con man Harold Hill who comes to a town in Indiana posing as a boy’s band conductor, and how an unexpected romance with the local librarian, Marian, changes his plans.
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Witness for the Prosecution
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1984 performance of Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie.
Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of a trial of a man named Leonard Vole for the murder of a wealthy older woman who made him her principle heir. During the trial his wife, Romaine, comes to testify not in his defense, but on the side of the prosecution.
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Once Upon a Time…
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1983 Advanced Oral Interpretation Class’s performance of Once Upon a Time… adapted by Oliver Hubbard.
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Summer and Smoke
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams.
Summer and Smoke is the story of a high strung young woman named Alma Winemiller, and the spiritual/sexual romance that nearly develops between her and John Buchanan Jr. who grew up next door.
The music used to accompany the performance was used in the original production.
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The Curious Savage
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1983 performance of The Curious Savage by John Patrick.
The Curious Savage is the story of Ethel P. Savage, an elderly lady whose husband has died and left her approximately ten million dollars. When she sets up a memorial fund for average people to pursue their dreams, her three stepchildren commit her to a sanatorium and try to discover where she has hidden the fortune. As the search for the fortune plays out the question becomes who is really crazy, the residents of the sanatorium or Ethel’s stepchildren.
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The Diary of Anne Frank
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1983 performance of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett adapted from The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
The Diary of Anne Frank is a dramatization of the diary entries of Anne Frank, a young Dutch-Jew who went into hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands.
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Inherit the Wind
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1982 performance of Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawerence and Robert E. Lee.
Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial where a high school teacher named John T. Scopes was tried for teaching evolution against state law.
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The Importance of Being Earnest
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1982 performance of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, is a farcical comedy about two men who each take on the personas with the name of Earnest in order to escape the burdens of social obligations.
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You Can't Take It With You
The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1982 performance of You Can’t Take It with You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
You Can’t Take It with You follows the story of the only normal daughter in an eccentric family, and the chaos and mishaps which happen when she brings her fiancé home to meet her family.
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Fiddler on the Roof
The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1981 performance of Fiddler on the Roof with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. It is based on the stories of Jewish writer Sholem Alrichem.
Fiddler On the Roof follows the story of a poor Jewish dairyman named Tevye as he tries to maintain his religious and cultural traditions as outside influences begin to impact his family. It is set during the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905.