The theater department is staging a zany comedy Oct. 2-5: “Tom, Dick and Harry.”
Performances run from Oct. 2-5 in the Jabara Black Box Theatre. Start times for the Thursday-Saturday performances will be at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. for the Sunday matinee. Tickets, available for purchase at the door or online at newmanuniversitytheatre.org, are $10 for general admission with discounts available and free for Newman students.
About the play
“Tom, Dick and Harry” is a comedic farce by Ray and Michael Cooney, that follows Tom and his wife, Linda, in their mission to adopt a baby. Tom’s brothers, Dick and Harry, offer misguided help along the way that snowballs into more and more chaos for the characters.
“The whole situation is just absurd, and it is just a Russian nesting doll of bad situations,” said junior Luke Jones, who plays the role of Dick. “You are constantly thinking, ‘How are they going to deal with this one?’”
The role of Dick is the “exact opposite” of Jones, he said, with his cocky attitude and questionable decision-making. The cast also features Joseph Kiley as Harry, the simple-minded youngest brother who inadvertently creates chaos, and Grace Doss as Linda, an anxiety-ridden and desperate individual who wants to make a good impression on the adoption agency.
The following students comprise the cast of “Tom, Dick and Harry” in the upcoming play:
- Steven Brown – Tom
- Luke Jones – Dick
- Joseph Kiley – Harry
- Grace Doss – Linda
- Dannicka McGrath – Mrs. Potter
- Daniel Graber – Boris
- Ethan Mowery – Andreas
- Abigail Oberley – Katerina
- Benjamin Mannette – Constable Downs
A change in direction
For the first time at Newman, this play is being directed by Technical Director Austin Schwartz, rather than Director of Theatre Mark Mannette, who has led the program for the last 15 years.
“I had asked Mark Mannette if he’d consider allowing me to direct a show, and he fully supported that idea and just waited for that opportunity to arise,” Schwartz said.
With Mannette directing the department’s upcoming musical “Carousel” from Nov. 6-9, he saw it as the perfect time to give Schwartz the reins.
“I think that the audience will enjoy the outlandishness of the piece,” Schwartz said. “My hope is that they are begging for a breath by the end because they have been laughing so hard.”
Junior Steven Brown, in his first lead in a Newman production, is playing the role of Tom. He’s juggled the part with his studies as a double major in theater and theology.
“It’s quite exciting and a great way to broaden my talent as an actor as well as my time management as a college student,” Brown said. “Having the lead naturally means more lines and beats to get memorized, and I have been looking at this script at random moments of the day.”
There is never a dull moment throughout the play, and each moment is more intense and engaging than the next.
-Steven Brown, student actor
Schwartz said the play embraces outlandish behavior and “quippy torts,” as characters’ mistakes head towards catastrophe.
“There is never a dull moment throughout the play, and each moment is more intense and engaging than the next,” Brown said. “The situations are unrealistic and over the top, and that makes it such a joy to see the characters trying to get themselves out of a bad situation that they put themselves in.”
What’s coming up at Newman’s theater
On average, the Newman theater department performs two plays, one musical, and a spring variety show every year.
