Ripon College pairs dinner with performance for fall play

SOURCE: Fond du Lac Reporter
RIPON — Ripon College's fall play, "Fuente Ovejuna," will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 to 7 in the Benstead Theatre, Rodman Center for the Arts. Due to subject matter and language, the show — which will be presented in English — is intended for mature audiences.

The production features a cast of 21 students and a backstage crew of 12. All tickets for the show are free, though reservations (920-748-8791) are recommended. A special South America-themed menu and wine selection will be offered during its dinner hours for the entirety of the show's run. Patrons may order a four-course, prix fixe meal (soup, appetizer, choice of two entrees, dessert) for $32, or selections a la carte. Dinner service begins at 5 p.m. each night. Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to Ripon College Friends of the Arts. Written in 1612 by Shakespeare's Spanish contemporary Lope de Vega, "Fuente Ovejuna" is a classic tale of tyranny and triumph. The title is the name of a small town in Spain where, in 1476, a group of villages rose up against a cruel and vicious tyrant, took over their town, and restored their honor.

Like Shakespeare's plays, this has a number of short scenes and mixes comedy and serious drama as well as music and dance. "We have used a modern English adaptation of this play and updated the setting," said Director Ken Hill in a news release. "The production opens in contemporary Colombia during a workers' strike where the citizens of the town retell the story of Fuente Ovejuna using modern music ranging from salsa to Shakira, and using modern props and costumes."