by Brooke Eddington Audiences will revisit turn-of-the-century Oklahoma Territory during Brigham Young University's production of 'Oklahoma!,' which will be performed Wednesday, Jan. 24, through Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $20 for general admission, or $14 for weeknights and $15 for weekend shows with a BYU or student ID. Dress rehearsals, which will be Jan. 24-25, as well as the Feb. 3 matinee at 2 p.m. are $10. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center, at (801) 422-7664 or online at artstix.byu.edu. Rodgers and Hammerstein's enduring musical is based on the play 'How Green Grow the Lilacs,' written in 1931 by Lynn Riggs. The BYU production will feature Andrea Williams as Laurey and Kevin Goertzen as Curly McLain, the young cowboy who courts Laurey even when the menacing farmhand Jud Fry, who will be played by Oren Mauldin, seems to get in the way. Audiences will also drift away during Laurey's dream ballet, see Ado Annie (Brittany Williams) mourn over how she 'cain't say no,' consider whether the farmers and cowboys should actually be friends and watch Aunt Eller (Emily Summerhays) shake her head over it all as she takes care of Laurey. The musical is directed by Tim Threlfall. Russell D. Richins and Tracey Woolley are the production manager and coordinator, respectively, and music direction will be by Gayle Lockwood. Lisa Stoddard is the choreographer. Scenic designer Jennifer Mortensen is assisted by faculty advisor Rory Scanlon, and costume designer Priscilla Hao is assisted by faculty consultant Janet Swenson. Becca Bailey and Chelsea Toler are makeup and hair co-designers, while Michael Handley and Troy Streeter are designing the lighting and sound, respectively. For more information, contact Tim Threlfall, (801) 422-8133, or visit cfac.byu.edu. Source: BYU News

by James V. D'Arc 'Sunrise,' named by Life magazine as “the most important picture in the history of the movies,” will be shown at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. The doors will open at 6:30. Admission is free, but early arrival is encouraged for a guaranteed seat. Children 8 and over are welcome. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium. Theater organist Blaine Gale will provide live organ accompaniment. “'Sunrise' was one of the last silent films,” said James D'Arc, curator Special Collections Motion Picture Archives. “It is proof of why so many filmmakers lamented the coming of sound. It is a lovely and very powerful motion picture of love and the power of fidelity in marriage.” The plot deals with the contrast between a man’s marriage to a sweet country girl and his infatuation with a woman from the city. It stars George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of O’Brien’s wife. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Sherwood wrote in Life magazine that 'Sunrise' is “the most important picture in the history of the movies.” Celebrated German director F.W. Murnau was brought to the Untied States by William Fox and given an unlimited budget and total creative freedom. The result was a powerful film of drama and beauty that, in the first year of the Academy Awards, won in a special category for being a “unique and artistic picture.” Cinematographer Karl Struss also won an Oscar for his moody, expressionistic photography. This showing of 'Sunrise' is part of the ongoing L. Tom Perry Special Collections Motion Picture Archive Film Series, drawing on its permanent collection of rare prints of classic motion pictures. It is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Dennis and Linda Gibson. A complete series schedule is available online at sc.lib.byu.edu. Source: BYU News

by Angela Fischer Brigham Young University’s Young Ambassadors will perform a variety of Broadway songs in “Circle of Life” Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 16-18, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall. A matinee performance will take place Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and faculty. To purchase tickets, call the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 422-4322 or visit performances.byu.edu. “Circle of Life” is a musical review celebrating selections from musical theatre of the 20th and 21st centuries. Show numbers include favorites such as “Lida Rose” from “The Music Man” and “All I Ask of You” from “Phantom of the Opera.” The show will also feature a medley from “Fiddler on the Roof” and numbers from “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Mary Poppins” and “Mamma Mia.” “With complex choreography representing a wide variety of dance styles and charismatic rhythms, our program has kept people in the audience tapping their shoes for generations,” said director Randy Boothe. “The Broadway tunes selected also celebrate friends, family, love and laughter amid the challenges of today’s world.” “Circle of Life” involves a four-member band and a cast of 30 singers and dancers. The group is also supported by 10 student technicians who provide backstage support and control lighting and sound. The Young Ambassadors will perform “Circle of Life” on tour in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois this summer. Last year, they performed and toured in China and South Korea. For more information, contact Randy Boothe at (801) 422-2564. Source: BYU News

by Brian Rust The Special Collections Motion Picture Archive Film Series at Brigham Young University will screen the romantic drama “Only Angels Have Wings” Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on the first floor. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Children age eight and over are welcome. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium. “Only Angels Have Wings” stars Cary Grant and Jean Arthur in their only film pairing. The movie centers on a group of American aviators headed by Grant who operate a freight airline in South America. Matters are complicated by the simultaneous and unexpected arrivals of show girl Arthur and Grant's old flame, played by a very young Rita Hayworth in her first important film. Directed and produced in the late 1930s by Howard Hawks, creator of some of the greatest movies of the decade, “Angels” demonstrates the central themes of professionalism, personal redemption and the relationship between men, women and work. An aviator himself, Hawks claimed the incidents and personalities he portrayed in the film came from people he knew personally. In an interview with writer Joseph McBride, Hawks said, “There wasn't one single scene in the whole picture that wasn't real.' For more information, contact James D’Arc at (801) 422-6371 or visit sc.lib.byu.edu for a complete season schedule. Source: BYU News

by Brian Rust The Special Collections Motion Picture Archive Film Series at Brigham Young University will open its seventh year by screening “Casablanca,” the classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, on Friday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium on the first level. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Children eight years and older are welcome. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium. A film that produced many memorable lines of dialogue, “Casablanca” attained fame when the Allied troops landed in the Moroccan city, making its name legendary. Casablanca also served as the site of war conferences involving Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. The wartime romantic drama follows Rick Blaine, an expatriate American saloon owner, and Ilsa, the woman who ran out on him but comes back into his life with her husband to obtain valuable exit visas to freedom that only Rick can get. A top-ten pick of almost every list of all-time movie favorites, “Casablanca” received eight Academy Award nominations and won three for best picture, screenplay and director. 'This is a very rare opportunity to see this famous movie the way it was meant to be seen, on film and on the big screen,' says James D'Arc, series director and curator of the BYU film archive. For more information, contact James D’Arc at (801) 422-6371 or visit sc.lib.byu.edu for a complete season schedule. Source: BYU News

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