Williams Baptist University’s Theatre program is set to kick off the 2023-24 season with a performance of “The Romancers” by Edmond Rostand. The play is scheduled for Oct. 26-27 at the Randolph County Development Center on the campus of Black River Technical College.
“The Romancers” narrates the tale of two neighboring parents with estates separated by a wall. In an effort to unite their children in love, the parents feign a feud. To solidify the budding romance, a staged kidnapping of the daughter by a hired fake swashbuckler is planned. The son is intended to rescue the daughter, resolving the feud and paving the way for a wedding. However, the unfolding of the plan leads to unexpected consequences, suggesting that forbidden love may be more alluring than conventional love.
“The playwright, Edmond Rostand, also wrote Cyrano De Bergerac, so you can expect the course of true love will not run smoothly,” said Melinda Williams, the director of the production and an Assistant Professor of Speech, Drama, & Journalism at WBU.
Due to ongoing renovations at the WBU performance space, the play will be held at the Randolph County Development Center on the Black River Technical College campus. Williams expressed gratitude for the generosity of BRTC in providing the auditorium, emphasizing its suitability as a performance space.
“We are so grateful BRTC is lending us the auditorium for the play,” Williams said. “It will make a great performance space.”
The renovations to Startup Chapel on the WBU campus include a refurbished auditorium and a new addition to the rear of the structure. Having served as the home to WBU theatre productions for over three decades, Startup Chapel is undergoing transformations to enhance its facilities.
“We performed our plays in Startup Chapel when I was a student out here,” Williams said. “Of course, then it was just the chapel since it was the only one on campus, but then the Southerland-Mabee Center was built, and we started using it for our plays.”
The production is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 26-27, at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 for students and senior citizens, and $5 for general admission. The performance will also kick off the homecoming festivities for WBU.