The past few weeks have been hectic for the Wright State theatre department with their most recent show, “Restoration!” The season-opening piece played from September 22nd to October 2nd and was received very well, according to actor and senior Connor Lysholm.
“This is an entirely new show,” Lysholm said. “To see something that’s been around for hundreds of years get revamped and thrown into an entirely new century and have music added and have the audience love it is so incredibly rewarding.”
The history of the play is a bit complicated. It’s based in the writings of William Shakespeare, but Nahum Tate rewrote it into his own adaptation of The History of King Lear. The story is frequently altered for its performances, and what Wright State students put on was a recently readapted version by W. Stuart McDowell, artistic director of WSU’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures.
The originality of this specific show was heavily due not only to McDowell, but also to the actors. Lysholm was clear on how much work his colleagues put into their characters and what they each brought to the stage.
“The cast was absolutely wonderful. Each and every member brought in so much character research and development from over the summer,” said Lysholm. “[They] personalized it into their own thing. It really brought the stage to life.”
It will be Lysholm’s last performance at Wright State, though he has more positions obtained for the future.
The department’s future, however, includes more recently written pieces like “No, No, Nanette!” and “The Children’s Hour.” The former will be showing from the end of October through the beginning of November, and the latter will show in February. To find out more about the department or the box office, check their page on Wright State’s website.
