Broadway-level talent on stage and behind the scenes marks the Western Playhouse production of the award-winning new musical \u201cMother Divine\u201d July 11-19 in the Potter Hall Theater on the campus of Missouri Western State University. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. July 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 13. Tickets may be purchased in advance in person at the Western Institute, Spratt Hall room 105; by phone at 816-271-4100; or online at www.westernplayhouse.com. Advance tickets may also be available at the door, but advance purchase is recommended. The cast, under the direction of Dr. Bob Willenbrink, founding dean of Missouri Western\u2019s School of Fine Arts, is led by Broadway and New York performer Randy Davis and regional favorite Betti O. of Manhattan, Kan.<\/p>\n
Book and lyrics are by Laurel Klinger Vartabedian of St. Joseph and music by Bill Evans, with new musical arrangements by West End and Broadway music director and conductor Colin Welford, whose credits include \u201cThe Lion King,\u201d \u201cBilly Elliot\u201d and \u201cThe Who\u2019s Tommy.\u201d Welford is serving as the production\u2019s musical director.<\/p>\n
Presented by the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival as one of ten Next Link projects, the Western Playhouse production of \u201cMother Divine\u201d is in a developmental partnership with McCoy Rigby Entertainment, a theatrical production company that has launched several Tony Award-nominated Broadway, international and national touring productions, including \u201cPeter Pan,\u201d \u201cSuessical the Musical\u201d and \u201cAnnie Get Your Gun,\u201d all starring Cathy Rigby.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother Divine\u201d is inspired by the real life events of a charismatic Depression era Harlem evangelist named Father Divine. He practiced his own brand of Christian doctrine mixed with capitalism, socialism and mysticism. Most important was his notion that heaven was already on earth, and that his followers would live forever if they practiced celibacy and believed he was God. His preaching hit a supernatural snag when his much older wife died. Father assured his followers that Mother had not died but merely wanted a body more fitting of her righteous spirit. He claimed he obliged her wish by housing her spirit in the body of a 21-year-old blond, presented to his flock as, \u201cMother in the Second Body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here the story takes a fanciful departure when the first Mother Divine returns to earth and, with the help of a bumbling IRS agent, attempts to regain her rightful place in the kingdom. Everyone is chasing someone else\u2019s secrets in this rollicking romp set to a rousing Gospel-tinged score.<\/p>\n
Davis, who plays Father Divine and is the show\u2019s choreographer, has appeared in several Broadway shows and national tours, including the hit revival of \u201cGuys & Dolls\u201d with Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince and Nathan Lane. He continued from there with runs in \u201cCats\u201d and \u201cPeter Pan\u201d and assisted with the original Broadway production of \u201cAll Shook Up.\u201d He was also one of the select actors that appeared at the famed Apollo Theater in George C. Wolfe\u2019s \u201cHarlem Song\u201d and has performed twice at the White House.<\/p>\n
Betti O. (Mother Divine) is originally from St. Louis, Mo., but has become well known in Kansas, where her family moved. Her television credits include the network children\u2019s series \u201cFour Fish Fly Free<\/em>,\u201d as well as her show-stopping performance as a national winner on \u201cShowtime at the Apollo\u201d in the legendary New York theater. Betti O. has performed in Europe, Asia, and all across the U.S. She recorded a hit dance chart single in Germany, \u201cPrecious Little Diamond<\/em>,\u201d and performed with Ben Vereen, Sandy Duncan and Ed Harris in \u201cBroadway Sings for the Heartland<\/em>,\u201d a star-studded benefit held in Oklahoma City. Betti O. is a member of The Kansas Music Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Other cast members have come to St. Joseph from points far and near, including Erick Carter of New York; Alanna Lovely and Megan Gill of Chicago; Candace Culcleasure of Florida; Katie Kalahurka and Matthew King of Kansas City; Mary Kate Moore of Springfield, Mo.; and a talented St. Joseph\/Missouri Western contingent including Lauren Bergman, Thomas Delgado, Amanda Estep, Merlynne Hughes, Mert Hughes, Jacob Mills, and Derek Thompson.<\/p>\n Davis and Kalahurka are members of Actors\u2019 Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.<\/p>\n Tickets will sell for $22.50 for adults and $9.50 for the first two youth 17 and under, then $1 for each additional child. There are also discounts available for group ticket sales and for Missouri Western faculty and staff.<\/p>\n \u201cMother Divine\u201d is the second and final show of the third season of Western Playhouse, the summer theatre company of Missouri Western State University. The company presented \u201cThe Music Man\u201d June 20-28. Western Playhouse was founded in 2012 as a unit of the Western Institute at Missouri Western. It is a resident summer theatre company utilizing professional actors.<\/p>\n Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit <\/em>www.missouriwestern.edu<\/a><\/em>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Broadway-level talent on stage and behind the scenes marks the Western Playhouse production of the award-winning new musical \u201cMother Divine\u201d July 11-19 in the Potter Hall Theater on the campus of Missouri Western State University. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. July 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 13. Tickets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[557,786],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9519,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions\/9519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}