Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone

Written by Terrence McNally
Directed by Paul Moser

December 8 - 10, 2011 at 8pm

Hall Auditorium, Oberlin College

Tommy Flowers wants to blow up America. Why? “So we can start all over again. Now we can blow it up nice, or we can blow it up tough. What some of my friends are doing is tough. I’d prefer nice. Wouldn’t you?” In Terrence McNally’s irreverent dark comedy, Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, blowing it up “nice” means igniting the fuse of a one-man rebellion fueled by fun. The show is a quick-paced tour de force in which the main character, Tommy Flowers – a child of the fifties, takes the audience on a wild roller-coaster ride of comic sketches, dramatic scenes, anti-authoritarian diatribes and fantasy sequences which collectively portray his life, personality, and politics.

Tickets

$4 Students
$6 OC Faculty and Staff / Senior Citizens
$8 Public

$3 More at the Door

** SPECIAL DISCOUNTS **
Buy one ticket for Thursday and receive one ticket for FREE on advance ticket purchases in person or by phone only.
High School students can receive free tickets to any performance. Please call (440) 775-8169 or bring your ID to the box office.
Group discounts available for parties of 10 or more. For group discouts please contact (440) 775-8171.

In Person
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Central Ticket Service in Hall Auditorium Lobby.
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 12pm to 5pm

By Phone
Contact Central Ticket Service at: (440) 775-8169 or 1-800-371-0178
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 12pm to 5pm

Online
oberlin.edu/tickets

Hall Auditorium is wheelchair accessible and there is free parking located behind the building.
[Get Directions to Hall Auditorium]

This production is presented by the Oberlin College Theater and Dance Program and the Sue Carroll Smith Fund. 

Artistic Credits

Cast

Production Credits

Production Notes

Partially inspired by ‘60s Yippie-leader, Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book, Tommy Flowers is structured like a lesson-by-lesson guidebook on how to rip off “the system,” to get free everything! The style of the play shifts constantly: at times it resembles the manic political rants of the ‘60s, then changes into the mellow flow-of-consciousness of J.D. Salinger, then transforms into poignant realism, before suddenly twisting into over-the-top satire. Beneath all this anarchy and fun, ticking away like a time bomb, is Tommy’s angry defiance against a society that wants him to “grow up” and conform.

“This play is a window to another time, but one that I think resonates today”, explains director, Associate Professor Paul Moser. “Tommy Flowers has become a “period piece” but its setting was described by the playwright as “now”, and was originally intended to be a reflection on the highly politicized counter culture of the late 1960s when it was written. This was a time of great frustration, anger and polarization, much like today…There was a deep generational divide, too, popularized by Jerry Rubin’s warning: Don’t trust anyone over thirty.” Rubin and Hoffman, founders of the Youth International Party, were probably the real-life inspirations behind the character of Tommy Flowers. The Yippies were known primarily for their “symbolic politics”, like campaigning for a real pig for President in 1968, or their 1970 invasion and occupation of Disneyland. These kinds of hilariously provocative “guerrilla theater” pranks are the guiding spirit animating this play.

There are a lot of historical parallels between that turbulent decade and today, especially the growing divide between the opposing forces represented by the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements. “That’s one reason why I chose this play: it’s timely. But for me, the show works primarily on a deeper, non-political, more personal level.” As the title implies (an allusion to Pete Seeger’s classic folk song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”) it dramatizes something cyclical and timeless - the passage from youth to adulthood. The inherent angst of that passage is really the conflict at the heart of this play: the story of a young man who comes to an unfathomable crossroads in his life. I think the universality of his predicament is what makes Tommy Flowers still accessible today. And why I think Oberlin students will really enjoy it.”

The central story of Tommy Flowers is simple. Tommy has just turned 30, but (like Peter Pan) he won’t grow up. Instead he glamorizes his transient lifestyle. He and his dog, Arnold, befriend an old homeless man, an actor named Ben Delight. Tommy takes Ben to Bloomingdales to steal him a new coat, where he picks up Nedda Lemon (an aspiring cellist) in the Ladies Room. The foursome move into Nedda’s Village apartment, love between the couple follows suit, and life for this unconventional household seems a counterculture paradise until reality sets in. Nedda confronts Tommy’s “guerrilla warfare” lifestyle, and Tommy must reevaluate where he stands.

A unique element of this production will be the incorporation of video elements. “I wanted this to be a collaboration between Cinema Studies and Theater students,” says Moser. In a sense, the whole show has been conceived as a multimedia collage. The minimalist set will be made up of mostly projection screens. Live scenes will alternate with pre-taped video sequences. Video segments will not only serve the production as transitional bridges between scenes establishing mood and period locales, but will also be used interactively: live actors playing scenes with projected characters.

Tommy Flowers promises to be an outrageously funny and thought provoking show, not to be missed. If you can’t afford a ticket, take Tommy Flower’s advice: “Walk in backwards and they’ll think you’re coming out!”

Bios

PAUL MOSER (Director) After graduating from Brown University, Mr. Moser began his professional career as an Equity Stage Manager in NYC, working at theaters such as Soho Rep and the Roundabout, with theater legends such as Earle Hyman and Jerome Kilty. He went on to earn his MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama: studying with Lloyd Richards, Ming Cho Lee, and Jennifer Tipton. Mr. Moser then served as Associate Artistic Director of the Indiana Repertory Theater, directing close to two dozen shows, including critically acclaimed productions of The Crucible, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tobacco Road, Torch Song Trilogy, 'night Mother, and Virginia. For the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Yuletide Celebration, he collaborated with Tony-Award winning designer, Derek McLane, to create a bigger-than-life puppet adaptation of A Christmas Carol which was revived annually for over a decade. Other regional directing credits include productions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Theatre Virginia, Portland Stage (where his production of A Walk in the Woods received a "Best of Maine" award), Phoenix Theater, Spectrum Stage and New Harmony Theater. Mr. Moser began teaching Acting and Directing at Oberlin in 1990, where he served as Director of the Theater & Dance Program from 2000 - 2009. At last count, he has directed over two dozen plays at the College, including works by Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov, Shaw, Wedekind, Ibsen, Pinter, Blitzstein, Hart, Shepard, Shawn, and Bogosian. In 1992, he formed The Black River Theater Company which developed two of his own original political plays, The Trouble with Dinosaurs and Sanctuary (later presented at The Apple Tree in Chicago); From 1997 - 2001, BRTC produced free family Shakespeare: The Tempest, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry IV, Part 1 and Twelfth Night. In 2007, he collaborated with former students in Fourth Meal Productions' NY premiere of Sarah Violet Bliss's Dorm Stories. In 2009, with the help of colleagues and former students, Mr. Moser launched the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival, directing its inaugural productions of The Glass Menagerie and The Tempest. Mr. Moser would like to thank his wife Karen Nelson-Moser, and daughter Madeleine for their continued support.

TERRENCE MCNALLY (Playwright) Last season saw Master Class revived on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club. He has won four Tony Awards for his plays Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! and his books for the musicals Ragtime and Kiss of the Spider Woman. His other plays include Corpus Christi; A Perfect Ganesh; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; The Lisbon Traviata; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; and It's Only a Play, all of which began at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Earlier stage works include Bad Habits, The Ritz, Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, And Things That Go Bump in the Night, Next and the book for the musicals The Full Monty, A Man of No Importance and The Rink. For San Francisco Opera he wrote the libretto for an opera based on Sister Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking, with music by Jake Heggie. Mr. McNally has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre's Mother, for which he won an Emmy.

Media

All media inquiries can be directed to Ellie Philips at 646.245.9619 or ephilips@oberlin.edu