2006-07 Season

Patchouli
Join Bruce and Julie for an evening of heartfelt acoustic versatility. As heard on the duo’s eight independent albums released since 1996, Julie's passionate, playful vocal imagery, combined with Bruce's innovative guitar style and fluid improvisations, result in an engaging and organic musical experience. Patchouli clearly has earned its loyal national following, having logged thousands of miles on tour, performed hundreds of concerts, and made frequent guest appearances on world and folk radio programs.

Last Train to Nibroc
A Staged Reading
By Arlene Hutton
In December 1940, a train bound for New York from Los Angeles carries the corpses of acclaimed American authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathaniel West. Also on board are two strangers from Kentucky – May, a young, bookish woman who plans to become a missionary, and Raleigh, a military veteran who dreams of becoming a writer. When Raleigh learns May never has attended the popular Nibroc Festival near their hometowns, he promises to take her. Fate, however, has other plans for their relationship.

The Trojan Women
By Euripides
Translated by Nicholas Rudall; Directed by Mary Ringstad
When it debuted in 415 B.C., The Trojan Women presented an obvious commentary on the absurdity of armed conflict – specifically the savagery of Greek warriors during the Peloponnesian War. The play follows the women of Troy who, after their husbands are murdered and their city destroyed, are forced into a life of slavery. Euripides’ original anti-war drama exhibits both compassion for the suffering of war’s victims and contempt for the arrogance of its victors. This modern translation is by University of Chicago professor Nicholas Rudall, founding director of Chicago’s Court Theatre.

Oakton Follies
From Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour to American Idol, audiences have long embraced the triumph – and schadenfreude – associated with watching others aspire to stardom. Experience the highs, lows, and everything in between as brave, bold members of Oakton’s faculty, staff, and administration strut their stuff on the main stage.

Emerald City Theatre Company presents
Stinky Cheese Man
Jam-packed with wacky, wisecracking, and whimsical characters, Stinky Cheese Man turns classic fairy tales upside-down to create preposterous vignettes like “Cinderumplestiltskin” and “The Really Ugly Duckling.” Recommended for grades K-7, as well as so-called “grown-ups” who still enjoy a healthy dose of comic satire!

Born Yesterday
By Garson Kanin
Directed by Kimberly Senior
Political corruption takes it on the chin in this 1940s Broadway hit, as naïve and relevant today as it was six decades ago. Arriving in Washington, D.C., intending to “pocket” a few senators to help him expand his scrap metal monopoly, bully businessman Harry Brock decides to first submit his beautiful-but-dumb mistress, Billie Dawn, to some Pygmalion-style education in the social graces. Tutored by an idealistic Capitol Hill reporter, however, Billie soon awakens to the realities of partisan back-scratching, and summons the courage to expose her boyfriend’s corrosive scheme.

Clearly Classical . . . and More
Enjoy an evening of classical, contemporary, and original music performed by Oakton student groups and soloists. The Oakton Guitar Ensemble plays Bach and Pachelbel, as well as two original works by director Michael Adamczyk, “Welsh Suite” and “Mexican Folk Song Suite.” Comprised solely of female voices this semester, the Oakton Community College Choir performs standards by Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin, in addition to “Poor Richard,” another Adamczyk original that borrows its text from the pages of Poor Richard’s Almanac, originally published by Benjamin Franklin.

Jazz Invasion
Warm up to sizzlin’ jazz standards with the award-winning Oakton Community College Jazz Band. The “art of cool” is further explored by student combos and special guests.

Natya Dance
Experience an afternoon of traditional South Asian dance performance, described as "riveting" and "exquisite" by the Chicago Tribune. "The dancing and live music are superb," adds the Chicago Reader, which also commends Natya Dance and its "slow, sensuous embodiment of timeless beliefs and feelings."

Jazzin' Around
An evening of jazz presented by accomplished faculty performers, including Carey Polacek, Mark Olen, Tim Mason, Bret Sher, and Frank Dawson, along with special guests.

Deidre McCalla
With five critically acclaimed albums to her credit, including the recent Playing For Keeps (Maiden Rock), singer-songwriter Deidre McCalla remains a timeless road warrior. McCalla's words and music traverse the inner and outer landscapes of our lives, chronicling our strengths and weaknesses and celebrating the power and diversity of the human spirit. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

BFE
A Staged Reading By Julia Cho
Cute blondes are disappearing from her strip mall-covered suburban town, but 14-year-old Panny is more concerned with surviving her own adolescence. Raised by an unbalanced mother who thinks plastic surgery is the perfect birthday gift and a shy uncle who spends most of his time painting miniature models, Panny fears she is hopelessly different. A wrong number leads to a telephone friendship that seems to be the connection she's been missing. But Panny soon discovers that in BFE, a.k.a. "the middle of nowhere," anything can happen—and usually does.

Proof By David Auburn
Directed by Michael Ryczek
Love, loyalty, and madness are the themes of this tightly-woven family drama set in Chicago, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. On the eve of her 25th birthday, Catherine grapples with the death of her father, a legendary mathematician whose brilliance deteriorated into insanity over time. Paralyzed with sadness—which her manipulative older sister does little to ease—Catherine becomes a misanthrope, terrified that she has inherited her father's instability as well as his genius. Emotions get quite complicated when Hal, one of her father's former students, arrives to make a staggering discovery while scouring dozens of notebooks the late genius has left behind.

Alice in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll
Adapted by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus
Directed by Anthony Churchill
Join Alice and her "curiouser and curiouser" companions—Mad Hatter, March Hare, and a hookah-smoking Caterpillar—in this utterly disorienting production of a literary classic. Tumble into a topsy-turvy world of illusion based on Lewis Carroll's original texts for Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, as well as Sir John Tenniel's signature illustrations. Delight in the impressionistic hallucinations and bizarre themes of Alice's adventures, served with a dreamy dose of theatrical chicanery. "We're all mad here," chides the Cheshire Cat. "I'm mad. You're mad. You must be or you wouldn't have come here." (Recommended for age 10 and older.)

Chicago Writers Series
A tradition returns featuring contemporary authors and their works.
Billy Lombardo
Author of The Logic of the Rose, Chicago Stories, and The Pilgrim Virgin.

Six Piano Ensemble
The "musical sensitivity" and "outstanding balance" of the Six Piano Ensemble return to Oakton's main stage. Founded in 1980 by Glenna Sprague, professor and coordinator of music, the Six Piano Ensemble performs a variety of challenging works from the classical, popular, and ragtime literature. Each composition is transcribed specifically for six pianos by Professor Sprague. The result is a rich and layered sound that may be compared to that of an orchestra, with each member playing a different part of a composition as the melody transfers from one performer to another.

Clearly Classical
The Oakton Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of Michael Adamczyk, presents an afternoon of classical, contemporary, and original music. The program features student quartets, trios, duets, and soloists—plus some special surprise guests.

Spring Finale
Jazz takes flight in this musical celebration to welcome the start of summer. Join Carey Polacek, director of the Oakton Jazz Band, and student performers for an evening of swinging standards.

Choral Concert
Celebrate spring with the Oakton Community College Choir. Enjoy classical, contemporary, and original compositions performed by proficient voice students.

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