Additional Productions, 1973-1979

The Miracle Worker, March 1973

Taking place at the Keller homestead in Tuscumbia, Alabama during the 1880s, this play by William Gibson is based on Helen Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-the-Moon Marigolds, May 1974

A lyrical drama by Paul Zindel revolving around the dysfunctional family of single mother Beatrice and her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie.

Come Blow Your Horn and Laugh In, July—August 1974

Two Summer Theatre productions - Come Blow Your Horn was written by Neil Simon and Laugh In was freely adapted from the television show of the same name.

Dark of the Moon, November 1974

Written by Howard Richardson and William Berney, this dramatic legend is about a witch boy who seeks to become human after falling in love with a human girl.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, March 1975

This play by Edward Albee examines the crumbling marriage of Martha and George, a middle age couple who drag a younger couple, Nick and Honey, into their relationship.

Our Town, March 1976

This classic by Thornton Wilder ponders the beauty and the pain of being alive through the people of a fictional small town in New Hampshire called Grover’s Corners.

Cheep Theatricks, May 1976

“A thinking man’s revue” in seven one-act plays by leading Off-Off Broadway playwright Robert Patrick.

A View from the Bridge, November 1977

A classic modern tragedy by Arthur Miller set in a 1950s Italian-American neighborhood near the Brooklyn Bridge about the protagonist’s romantic struggle with his wife’s cousin over his orphaned niece.

The Late Christopher Bean, July and August 1978

The Late Christopher Bean, written in 1932 by Sidney Howard, is an adaptation of Prenez garde a la peinture, a play by Rene Fauchois that was based on Vincent Van Gogh. In the story, a country doctor and his wife who had once taken care of a desperately poor painter are totally unprepared when the world of art suddenly discovers the late Chris Bean’s genius. Only one person remains calm and unaffected throughout the madness—Abby, the family’s maid.

The Salisbury State Theatre performed The Late Christopher Bean as its 1978 summer production. It was directed by Leland Starnes with set design by Robert Cloyd, costume design by Carl O’Shea, and lighting design by Johnny Pettegrew.

The cast included Wayne McCoy as Dr. Haggett, Mabs Cullen as Mrs. Haggett, Emily Beardsley as Susan, Mary Starnes as Abby, Dawn Volkart as Ada, Randall W. Judy as Warren Creamer, Howard Rebach as Tallant, Dixon Gourley as Rosen, and Leland Starnes as Davenport.

Once Upon a Mattress, November 1978

This Mary Rodgers musical tells the comedic story of a princess and a pea based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.

The Corn is Green, March 1979

The Corn is Green is a semi-autobiographical play by Emlyn Williams that tells the tale of a generous-hearted school teacher, Miss Moffat. Set in the 1890s, Miss Moffat helps educate a youngster named Morgan Evans in a remote Welsh coal mining village. After two years of mentorship under Miss Moffat, Evans eventually wins a scholarship to Oxford.

In the 1979 Salisbury State Theatre production of The Corn is Green, Miss Moffat was played by Associate Dean of Students, Audrey Stewart, and Morgan Evans was played by college junior, Timothy Dykes. The play was directed by Leland Starnes with scenery and costumes by Robert Cloyd, and lighting and technical direction by Johnny Pettegrew. The Welsh songs heard in the production were directed and arranged by music professor, Douglas Smith. Other members of the cast included Tony Whall as Mr. Jones, Kelley Rouse as Miss Ronberry, Bill Kerns as the Squire, Mabs Cullen as Mrs. Watty, and Kathy Peters as the insidious Bessie Watty.

The Children’s Hour, November 1979

A startling drama by Lillian Hellman that examines society’s tendency to destroy the eccentric or the unique through the characters of Karen and Martha, two women running an all-girls boarding school.