4 WCC CAMPUS VOICE - 9XAY 1, 1998
CZ^ICZO
The cast poses after its successful production
on Saturday night. PHOTO: STAFF
Play draws 400
By P. MICHELLE MIDKIFF
The Wayne Community
College Foundation,
Community Arts Council,
and Mount Olive College
sponsored a production
of **A Man for All
Seasons,” a drama in 2
acts, on Friday, April
24, and Saturday, April
25, at 8:00 p.m. in the
Lecture Hall.
The play, set in the
mid-1500's, was written
by Robert Bolt and
directed by Ray
Brannon, WCC sociology
instructor.
Dr. Ed Hogan,
instructor in Human
Services, played the
lead character. Sir
Thomas More, Lord
Chancellor of England
for Henry VIII.
The king, played by
Brannon, is displeased
with his wife Catherine
of Aragon, who is
unable to produce a
male heir.
He requests a
blessing from Sir
Thomas More for divorce
and remarriage to his
mistress Anne Boleyn.
More, a devout
Catholic, will not
compromise his
principles and
conscience and is
charged with treason,
imprisoned, and
beheaded as a martyr.
The characters and
players follow:
Sir Thomas More,
Dr. Ed Hogan; The
Common Man, Mike
Colvin, WCC student;
Master Richard Rich,
Charlie Taylor,
community volunteer;
The Duke of Norfolk,
Tim Benware, WCC
instructor in Criminal
Justice; Lady Alice
More, Rosalyn Lomax,
WCC English instructor;
Lady Margaret More,
Angela Aguigui, WCC
student; Cardinal
Wolsey, Dr.Ralph Soney,
Division Head of Human
Services/ Social
Sciences; Thomas
Cromwell.
Also, Dr. Ron
Taylor, Division Head
of Allied Health;
Signor Chapuys, Mark
Jones, WCC student;
William Roper, Adam
Williams, WCC student;
King Henry VIII, Ray
Brannon; A Woman, Sue
Benware, community
volunteer; Thomas
Cranmer, Edwin Modiin,
WCC student*.
Assisting with the
production were WCC
instructors Mike
Saylors, Department
Head of Social
Sciences; Kathryn
Spicer, Liberal Arts;
and Sherry Cranberry,
Human Services.
Community volunteers
included Jeannine
Taylor, Olivia Brannon,
and Paul Saylors.
WCC staff members
who helped included
Betty Wellons and Wade
Hallman from the Media
Production Department,
student Jonathan
Russell, instructor
Mary Rowland, and Jack
Kannan, executive
director of the
Foundation.
Costumes were
provided by Creative
Costumes of Raleigh,
NC.
Everyone performed
wonderfully and worked
well together to create
a success, Brannon
said.
Approximately 200
people attended per
performance.
By KEAT POWELL,
HUMANITIES, HUM 211
[Powell's response to
the assignment, "Review
a live performance,” a
requirement in Marian
Westbrook's HUM 211.
Thanks to Westbrook for
submitting this review,
slightly edited for the
sake of space, with the
author's permission.]
Very seldom is it
that I attend a play,
or even a live
performance for that
matter. Furthermore,
the few performances I
have been to have been
disappointing to say
the least.
So the quality and
professionalism of the
amateur production of
”A Man for All Seasons”
by Robert Bolt,
directed by Ray
Brannon, at the WCC
Lecture Hall came as a
pleasant shock.
While a few of the
cast members have
theatrical reputations
that precede them, I
went in not expecting
much of a performance
and left surprisingly
impressed and
contented.
To keep my interest,
a play must have a
moderately intriguing
plot. ”A Man for All
Seasons” certainly has
that.
The story, set in
the 16th century,
revolves around Sir
Thomas More, played by
Dr. Ed Hogan, and his
refusal to conform to a
changing society. More
has the prestigious
honor of being King
Henry VIII's chancellor
played by Ray Brannon.
King Henry
desperately wants a
divorce from his
infertile wife,
Catherine, for whom he
cares very little, so
that he can marry his
true love, Anne, and
finally have a son to
be the heir to his
throne.
He needs Sir Thomas
More's approval, as he
is going against the
church by pursuing a
divorce. With More and
his stainless
reputation on his side,
Henry feels the Pope
will grant him his
divorce.
However, More's
stern religious beliefs
and his moral code will
not allow him to give
his blessing to the
King.
This stance
eventually results in
Henry's breaking away
from the Church and
forming his own. He
appoints himself the
head of this new
church, grants himself
a divorce, and marries
Anne, making her the
new G[ueen of England.
Meanwhile, More is
being persecuted for
his lack of support for
the king. He is given
the opportunity to
conform and accept the
King's church several
times but declines as
he continuously stands
up for his beliefs.
After being thrown
in jail, he is later
brought to trial on
charges of treason and
sentenced to death.
I would certainly
like to commend the
entire cast and crew of
the amateur, and I use
that term loosely,
production on a job
well done.
However , I was
particularly impressed
with Dr. Ed Hogan; Dr.
Ron Taylor, who played
Thomas Cromwell; and
Rosalyn Lomax, who
played Lady Alice More.
Coincidentally,
these have experience
and theatrical
reputations preceding
them. But regardless of
their past accolades,
they all deserve to be
commended for their
stellar performances.
continued page 9
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