Theater at its best: three free shows in Oberlin

WHAT: Oberlin Summer Theater Festival
WHEN: Throughout July
WHERE: Hall Auditorium, 67 North Main St., Oberlin
INFO: 440-775-8169 or ostf@oberlin.edu

As the hot Lake Erie summer crawls from June into hazy July, theater around the area swings into action, including the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival. While almost anything even remotely theater-related can be expensive to attend, the festival separates itself from the pack by offering its tickets at an extremely low price: free. 

“We’re doing it free for very idealistic reasons,” said artistic director Paul Moser. “We wanted to make it as accessible as possible so whole families could come, so parents could bring their kids. We want to be available and accessible, like a public library.”

The festival’s docket consists of three plays: “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder, Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and a brand new adaptation of the children’s novel “A Wrinkle in Time.” 

“Our Town,” the first show of the festival, is often regarded as an American classic.

“With ‘Our Town,’ it’s just a simple, straight-forward play. It has no scenery, and that’s what the script calls for,” actor David Bugher explained. The play, which depicts the everyday woes and wonders of citizens in an average town, uses minimal props and sets to allow the audience to mentally put themselves in the middle of the action. While the story takes place around the early 1900s, the events could easily occur today. 

The festival’s other classic play, “Much Ado About Nothing,” is a fast-paced Shakespearian romp that tells the tale of two pairs of lovers. Riddled with word play, deception and humor, the show is noted for its wit and cynicism. 

“It’s just like watching any great romantic comedy that you would go to see in a movie theater. It’s that funny, and it’s that fast, and it’s that entertaining,” said Alexis Macnab, who is acting in “Much Ado” and both adapted and directed “A Wrinkle in Time.”

Based on the Madeleine L’Engle novel, “A Wrinkle in Time” chronicles the fantastic interplanetary journey of three children as they traverse a vicious and often unforgiving universe. 

“‘A Wrinkle in Time’ was one of my favorite series of books growing up,” Macnab said. “‘Wrinkle’ is very epic.” 

“For people who know the children’s book, we’re trying to do as much with the fantastical creatures that are mentioned in it as we can,” said actor Andrew Gorell. In order to fully realize the book’s wildly fanciful beings, the company is using puppets to bring the beasts onstage. 

“It’s not like there is a hand-puppet or a table-top puppet. They’re bigger than that,” said actress Clare McNulty. “They’re puppets that are also kind of prop pieces.” 

The troupe’s arsenal of puppetry includes a massive centaur primarily constructed out of mirrors. With an impressive wingspan that stretches the length of the stage, the piece holds three actors on its back and requires seven puppeteers to run. 

Like most local theater, almost all of the company members are directly connected to the area. Attending homegrown productions like those at the festival is comparable to shopping at a farmers’ market: you are supporting a locally based effort that builds a broader sense of community. 

“This is local. This is here. This is now. You’re here; we’re here. It’s not a movie that’s been shipped in from across the seas or Hollywood, and it’ll be here for two weeks then gone. We’re part of a community,” Bugher said. 

Actress Kat Lee expanded on that idea, saying, “Free theater is rare in itself, but having it done by a company that is mostly professional and really experienced … is a gift.”

With a strong, sincere group of professionals leading the charge, the shows being performed during the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival promise to be well done.

All three plays are certainly worth attending at least once, if for no other reason than because admission is free. You really cannot beat a night of free theater. 

The productions begin July 2 and continue sporadically throughout the month of July at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Hall Auditorium, 67 North Main St., Oberlin. Tickets are free, but reservations may be made at 440-775-8169 or ostf@oberlin.edu.