Montana Repertory Theatre Launches 2018 Educational Outreach Tour

University of Montana's Montana Repertory Theatre presents its Fall Educational Outreach Tour of Morgan and Merlin. Written by playwright Laramie Dean and directed by Rosie Ayers, this magical and mystical tale whisks us to another time and place where knights and dragons, kings and wizards rub elbows with a modern day sorceress with a fantastic surprise up her bejeweled sleeve. Played out by only two actors, the 50-minute play features puppetry, vocal recordings, and theatrical effects.

PLAYING IN THE MASQUER THEATRE (UM CAMPUS), FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, SEPTTEMBER 7 AND 8 AT 7:30PM.

Retired actress Morgan Lafayette enjoys watering her roses and tending to the mansion her wealthy husband Geoffrey has purchased for her, reveling in the quiet life and seeming not to miss Hollywood, nor the career that she ended so abruptly. But Morgan is in reality Morgana LeFay, two-thousand-year-old sorceress and half-sister to King Arthur of Camelot, to whose seeming death and banishment from this world she very much contributed. Morgan wants to forget the past. But when a ferocious Dragon with world conquest on his mind kidnaps Geoffrey, Morgan is forced to summon famous wizard Merlin from the tree to which she consigned him thousands of years before. Will Merlin be able to help Morgan regain her magical powers in time to stop the Dragon...and Will Morgan be able to forgive herself for the destruction she caused in her former life?

Laramie Dean is a Montana native, born and raised on a ranch in northeastern Montana. His move to Missoula in high school allowed him to take drama classes at Hellgate High School, opening up an entire theatrical world of possibilities. Laramie earned his BFA in acting at the University of Montana before moving across the country to work on his PhD in playwriting at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Since then, he has performed, written, and directed numerous plays, including Othernatural, a one-man show, which was performed at Stage Left's Left Out Festival in New York City and again at Missoula's own Crystal Theatre. Laramie is currently enjoying his dream job as the Drama Director right back at Hellgate High School, where he has recently written and directed adaptations of The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein, which will be published by Theatrefolk and available for performance by schools soon. He is thrilled to be writing for the Rep again, as he had so much fun with the one in 2014, Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece: Stheno's Descent to the Underworld, and in 2016, Bronte? to the Future!

This presentation follows in the Montana Rep's Educational Outreach Tour tradition of bringing staged selections of the works of acclaimed historical writers or subject matter from the Montana Middle and High School curriculum to Montana communities.

Established in 1977, Montana Repertory Theatre has become one of the most respected professional touring companies in the country today. Recent productions include the highly acclaimed The Great Gatsby, It's a Wonderful Life, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Doubt, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Tickets for Morgan and Merlin are available at the UMArts Box Office and umt.edu/theatredance or by calling 243-4581. Prices range from $6-$11.

Performances are at 7:30pm in the UM Masquer Theatre in the Performing Arts Building.

The Montana Repertory Theatre is funded in part by grants from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government),The Dramatists Guild, and The Shubert Foundation, with support from the Montana State Legislature, the University of Montana, the Montana Cultural Trust, NorthWestern Energy, Dr.Cathy Capps, Dr. Sandy Sheppard, Jay Kettering & Gwen McKenna, and Jean Morrison.

To post a comment, you must register and login.