by Rod Jones
The unMasqued Theatre company is bringing its production of “Wasteland” to Oklahoma City University’s Black Box Theatre this week. Shows will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Tickets for the show’s Oklahoma premiere are available for purchase at the door or online at unmasqued.org/tickets.
“Wasteland” by playwright Susan Felder is about an American soldier who is captured by the enemy in Vietnam. The soldier is isolated in an underground cell and hears a voice from the other side of his prison wall. Separated by divergent backgrounds, opposing worldviews and solid ground, the two men battle loss of faith, dire conditions and each other. They strive to survive through humor, popular music, childhood games and discussing “Star Trek” episodes. The play seeks to show an affirmation of the extraordinary power of human connection in even the darkest and most divided times.
“Wasteland” had its world premiere at TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago in 2012. The Chicago Tribune called it, “A superbly directed production that progressively pulls you deeper and deeper into its carefully honed subterranean landscape. . . you come to see ‘Wasteland,’ which is quite subtly written, as a kind of metaphor for political division. . .”
Directed by Jeffrey Schmidt, the play stars OCU alumni Drew Feldman and Ty Fanning. It recently staged in Texas and is scheduled to play in Colorado and New York.
The OCU Black Box Theatre is located in the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center on Blackwelder Avenue and N.W. 24th Street. For more information visit the unMasqued.org website.
