NOC Fall musical opens Oct. 5

The play “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” will have a four-day run at 7:30 p.m. Oct.  5-7 and 2 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Kinzer Performing Arts Center at NOC Tonkawa.

The dark comedy, by playwright Sarah Ruhl, was the winner of the 2008 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play.

The show focuses on Jean, a woman who finds herself in possession of a deceased man’s phone. After answering, Jean is sucked in to his life, which holds more than one dark secret.

Exploring how we cope with death and our ability to connect with people in a world of ever-increasing technology, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is a must see.

Admission is free to the public. The play does contain strong language and adult themes.

The play is directed by Anthony Luetkenhaus, NOC director of technical theatre.

The lead in “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is Sally Kimbrel, playing the part of Jean.  Kimbrell is a sophomore Music Theatre major from Ponca City.

“Jean is an eccentric and innocent character that can’t seem to catch a break,” Kimbrel said.  “Granted, she does cause almost all her problems. However, everything she does is with good intentions.”

What can the audience expect?

“The audience can look forward to laughing at some pretty questionable things,” she added.  “This is a great show for college students. The millennial sense of humor absolutely suits this comedy so our audience is going to have a good time at our show.”

Brady Nelson, a sophomore social science major from Broken Bow, plays “Gordon” the dead man who owned the cell phone.

“The attending audience can look forward to some laughs and more than likely some awkward silences, but those can be enriching too, can’t they?” Nelson said.